The red carpet was rolled out at the Emnotweni Arena to welcome a multitude of honourable guests to the fifth annual Mpumalanga Sports Awards on Saturday September 9.
Presented by the Mpumalanga Department of Sports, Culture and Recreation, the event oozed glitz and glamour.
The theme of this year’s awards was a masquerade ball. The nominees did not only impress with their sporting achievements throughout the year, but also with their fashion choices.
The Mpumalanga Sports Awards aim to recognise and honour individuals and teams who have excelled both on and off the field within a particular period.
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“The true mark of an athlete is having good sportsmanship. Thank you to all our nominees, sponsors and strategic partners for supporting us and this wonderful occasion, and to our winners – keep inspiring the province,” the Mpumalanga Sports Awards wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday, together with a list of award winners.
Hoërskool Nelspruit’s golden girl, Ashley Erasmus (18), had a remarkable season on the athletics circuit this past year. Ashley impressed in multiple school-based events, and provincial, national and international championships.
She was selected for the South African U18 and U20 athletics team which represented the country at the African Championships in Zambia in April. Here, Ashley was crowned the African champ in discus and shotput, bringing home two gold medals.
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Her achievements throughout the year did not go unnoticed by the Mpumalanga sporting body and she was awarded with the prestigious Sportswoman of The Year award.
Daniel (known as DP) Badenhorst, also affiliated with Hoërskool Nelspruit, walked away with the Coach of The Year award on the evening.
Badenhorst is no stranger in the province’s athletics. As in previous years, he was a national coach this year, appointed by Athletics South Africa to lead the South African discus and shotput team in Zambia.
The honour of the evening went to Mbombela Golf Club honorary member, Thriston Lawrence. The pro golfer is proudly representing the Lowveld on the international golfing stage, playing in the DP World Tour.
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Lawrence is currently ranked 83rd on the official World Golf Ranking and 13th on the DP World Tour. His achievements spread far and wide and with four tour wins under his belt, of which the most recent was in the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried in June, it is no surprise that he was awarded with both the Sportsman of The Year and Sport Star of the Year awards.
Lawrence could not attend the awards himself as he was playing in the Irish Open which only concluded on Sunday. His absence was excused though, because with 12 under par, Lawrence tied for third place in the tournament. Fellow golfer and friend, Dalton Viviers, received the awards on Lawrence’s behalf.
