Issue date
It's the time of year where the Northland public have their say on the best parts of the sporting year.
This years focus - your Favourite Olympic Moment. Northland brought home four medals from the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Northern Advocate 2016 People's Choice Award is being held in conjunction with Sport Northland.
Formerly, the award was the Sports Personality of the Year. Previous winners were basketballer Pero Cameron in 2012, Colin Thorne in 2014 and Vicky, Kelly and Amanda Wilson for their efforts in Equestrian.
To vote, text NAD and your choice to 021 241 4568 or email competitions@northernadvocate.co.nz with your selection.
One vote per person please. Voting closes midnight November 26.
The winner will be revealed at the CSG Konica Minolta Northland Sports Awards in Whangarei on December 2.
Blair Tuke
Kerikeri's Blair Tuke and sailing partner Peter Burling went one better than their silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics when they brought home gold in the 49er skiff sailing class. Possibly no one in the New Zealand Olympic unit had more pressure on them, but it did not show as they took out the Olympic regatta by 43 points. But, under the guidance of their coach Hamish Willcox, they carried out the assignment with their usual calm approach. They excelled under expectation. Their Rio sequence of results: 1, 1, 5, 2, 7, 6, 2, 3, 1, 3, 5, 4; guaranteed their medal before the final race. They could have just shown up and had a nice, gentle sail around Guanabara Bay to confirm their Olympic medal, but the pair was not happy just to take part in the race. The brilliant Kiwi pair dominated the fleet, leading the race from the start to finish to take out the regatta over Australian pair Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, who beat the Kiwis for gold in London four years ago.
Chris Sharp
Northland para-sailor Chris Sharp and sailing partners Richard Dodson and Andrew May, was incredibly unlucky to miss out on a medal during the Paralympic sailing regatta, finishing fourth on a cruel count back. The trio competed in the 3-Person Keelboat (Sonar) class. Sharp, who became a paraplegic after a motorbike accident four years ago, went into the last day only six points separated the six top crews. The medal race saw the kiwis in eighth around the first mark; however they then gained on downwind to take first place by the bottom mark. They held most of the race until USA secured silver by overtaking them on the last upwind leg, pipping them at the finish line by one second. This left New Zealand in third place until Canada overtook the French on the last short reach to the finish beating them by one second. The tight finish meant New Zealand were on equal points in third position with the Canadians, but lost on a count back because Canada won one more race.
Other nominees:
Brooke Neal and Stacey Michelson, Women’s Black Sticks - Beating Australia
Cameron Leslie – Winning Gold and setting a new world record (150m Medley SM4 category)
Emma Foy – Silver in the 3km Individual Pursuit
Further details on The Northern Advocate website.
