Dame Lisa Carrington won the supreme award at the 59th Halberg Awards ceremony at Spark Arena in Auckland tonight.

Carrington, who claimed three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, was named the sportswoman of the year earlier in the night, before being presented the supreme award honours by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.

It was Carrington's second supreme award, having also won the ultimate honour in another Olympic year in 2016, while she has now won five consecutive sportswoman of the year awards, to go alongside her sportswoman of the decade honour, claimed last year in the absence of the yearly Halberg Awards due to the impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand sport.

Carrington became New Zealand's greatest Olympian in the Japanese capital, overcoming a tough schedule to win gold in the K1 200m, K1 500m and K2 500m (with Caitlin Regal), increasing her tally to six medals (five gold and one bronze).

Since the 2012 Olympics, Carrington has been involved in 29 per cent of the 17 gold medals achieved by this country.

In a hint of what was to come tonight, Carrington last month was awarded the Lonsdale Cup, presented annually to the team or athlete that has made the most outstanding contribution to an Olympic or Commonwealth sport.

"It's just really nice to be recognised for a big Olympics," Carrington said at the time.
"After not necessarily having the welcome home from Tokyo just due to going into lockdown and those types of things.

"And I look at this and [see] such amazing sportspeople. That's probably what's so special about this award, just being having my name alongside them."

Carrington has enjoyed our incredible summer, with an extended period back in Ōhope with family. She is still adjusting to the Damehood title — "it's always a bit strange, especially in formal settings. I haven't asked my training partners or anybody to call me that" — and is now fully back in training mode, ahead of the national championships in April.

A longer-term objective is the world championships in Canada in August as the 32-year-old eyes more medals at the 2024 Paris Games, with Carrington acknowledging that she could target the K1 500m, K2 500m and K4 500m at the next Games.

It was a night for the dames as Dame Sophie Pascoe won the para athlete/team of the year award in recognition of her haul at the Tokyo Paralympics, where she won two gold medals and a silver and bronze medal. Pascoe beat an array of her fellow Paralympic stars in an impressive field that included Anna Grimaldi, Holly Robinson, Lisa Adams and Tupou Neiufi.

It was the seventh time Pascoe has won the category.

The Black Caps were named team of the year for their efforts in 2021, most notably winning the World Test Championship. As well as being the best team in test cricket, they also sit atop the ODI world rankings, and made the Twenty20 World Cup final, losing to Australia.

Their test triumph saw them selected over a strong field of contenders featuring plenty of Olympic gold medal heavy-weights, with the Black Ferns sevens, the women's rowing pair of Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast and the men's rowing eight coming up short, as did the America's Cup-winning Team New Zealand.

As a result of those cricketing successes, Black Caps captain Kane Williamson was named sportsman of the year for the second time, beating Hamish Bond, Paul Coll and Scott Dixon to the honour.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead wasn't so lucky however, edged out by Carrington's coach Gordon Walker, who was named the coach of the year for the fourth time, after guiding the women's canoe sprint team — all which included tonight's supreme winner — to three golds in Tokyo.

Swimmer Erika Fairweather, who won the emerging talent award after her brilliant rise continued in 2021 by finishing eighth in the 400m freestyle at the Games, despite only being just 17 in Japan.

Halberg Award winners:

Supreme award: Dame Lisa Carrington (canoe racing)
Para athlete/team of the year: Dame Sophie Pascoe (Para swimming)
Sportsman of the year: Kane Williamson (cricket)
Sportswoman of the year: Dame Lisa Carrington (canoe racing)
Team of the year: Black Caps (cricket)
Coach of the year: Gordon Walker (canoe racing)
Emerging talent: Erika Fairweather (swimming)
Leadership award: Kereyn Smith
Favourite sporting moment: Emma Twigg wins gold in the women's Olympic single sculls at Tokyo on her fourth attempt.

Credit: NZHerald.co.nz