Athletes recognised at sports awards
EADP athletes were among the prize winners at the KZN Sports Awards.
THE 2017 KZN Sports Awards took place recently in Durban and it was the Department of Sport and Recreation-backed Elite Athlete Development Programme (EADP) that once again featured prominently, picking up six awards on offer.
The six awards that were won by EADP athletes were Sportswoman and Junior Sportswoman of the Year, Junior Sportsman of the Year, Sportsman with a disability, and both Sportsman of the Year and Sports Personality of the Year.
Bongumusa Mthembu, winner of the 2017 Comrades Marathon, was the golden man as he scooped both the Sportsman of the Year and won the public vote in the Sports Personality of the Year award.
“To be recognised amongst athletes from your mainstream sports like cricket and soccer is a very humbling experience. I want to thank our provincial government and the Department of Sport and Recreation for all they have done for us to support us in our preparation and competition,” Mthembu said.
Mthembu not only won the Comrades Marathon in 2017, but he formed a vital cog in the South African 100 Mile team that won the 100 Mile World Championships. He finished second in that race and broke the long-standing 100 mile record of Bruce Fordyce.
Another athlete that has had an incredible year is SPAR Proteas Netball captain Bongi Msomi. The netball stars career has sky-rocketed in 2017 and she was recognised when she won Sportswoman of the Year.
“It is obviously a huge honour to be acknowledged by your province and I am grateful for the award. The other nominees were just as deserving and I was excited to just be nominated with them. There is so much hard work that goes in before these awards happen, and it has been an incredible year for me and I am so happy that I was able to win,” the humble Msomi commented.
Msomi, who played for the Wasps in the United Kingdom’s Vitality Netball Superleague, was voted as the Most Valuable Player in her team and won Player of the Match in the grand hinal.
She was also selected as the captain of the national team and will now travel to Australia where she will take up her place in the Adelaide Thunder Birds team.
The other awards for EADP athletes went to Christie Mackenzie (Junior Sportswoman of the Year), Yukail Naidoo (Junior Sportsman of the Year) and Kevin Paul (Sportsman of the Year with a disability).
