Hamish Bond and Eric Murray Crowned Champions of the Decade at the Halberg Awards

Hamish Bond and Eric Murray have been named Supreme Champions of the Halberg Awards Decade.

As part of a ceremony in Auckland tonight to celebrate New Zealand’s outstanding sporting achievements from 2010 to 2019, the rowing couple won supreme honors for their triumphs, including back-to-back gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and 2016. Bond and Murray won eight world championships, hold the record for the most consecutive victories and received the Thomas Keller Medal, the highest honor in rowing.

Bond and Murray join an illustrious roster of sports legends to claim honors of the decade, with Dame Yvette Corlett (1950), Sir Peter Snell (1960), Sir John Walker (1970), Sir Richard Hadlee (1980), Danyon Loader (1990) and Carolyn Meyer and Georgina Earl (2000s) the previous recipients.

Bond and Murray also claimed the Team of the Decade award on a night in which nine awards were presented.

Lisa Carrington won the Sportswoman of the Decade over just two other finalists in the category: Dame Valerie Adams and Lydia Ko. The canoe racer is a three-time Olympic medalist and won gold in the K1 200 in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Carrington won a bronze medal in the K1 500 Olympic final, becoming the first New Zealand woman to win two medals in an individual Olympics. She has continued to defend the sport, accumulating 10 world titles from 2011 to 2019.

Former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was named Sportsman of the Decade after leading the team to two Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015. He became the first All Black to reach 100 Test matches and was captain of the team in 110 of its 148 test matches.

Sophie Pascoe was named Para Athlete of the Decade. The para-swimmer, who has won the Athlete of the Year Award six times, has dominated the sport for the past decade. Pascoe is a multiple world champion and became New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympic athlete after claiming her 15th medal in Rio.

Canoe trainer Gordon Walker claimed the Coach of the Decade honor after helping Carrington achieve his achievements in Rio in 2016. Walker also trained four boats to win gold in the 2017 World Canoe Sprint Championships and Carrington to his gold medal in the K1 200 at the same time. event. She also coached the New Zealand women’s team to five medals at the 2018 World Canoe Sprint Championships in Portugal and Carrington to win the K1 200.

Ko won the Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade award for becoming the youngest person, at age 14, to win a professional golf event at the NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. She became the youngest player and the first New Zealander to win an LPGA Tour event at the Canadian Open at age 15.

Two rowers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan received the New Zealand Favorite Sporting Moment of the Decade award, the only category chosen by the public for their moment at the 2012 London Olympics when they returned home from behind to win the medal for gold.

The Sport New Zealand Leadership Award was presented to the President of New Zealand Soccer, Johanna Wood.

Winners of the Halberg Awards Decade Champions

Halberg Prize Champion of the Decade: Male couple, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (rowing)

Team of the Decade: Male couple, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (rowing)

For Athlete of the Decade: Sophie Pascoe (For swimming)

Athlete of the Decade: Lisa Carrington (canoe racing)

Athlete of the Decade: Richie McCaw (rugby)

Coach of the Decade: Gordon Walker (canoe racing)

Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade: Lydia Ko (golf)

New Zealand’s Favorite Sports Moment of the Decade: Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan (rowing)

New Zealand Sports Leadership Award: Johanna Wood (soccer)