Queenstown skier Alice Robinson won the Sky Sport Emerging Talent award and a $10,000 cheque from Sky Sport at the 57th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards during a ceremony at Spark Arena in Auckland last night (Thursday February 13).

The ski racer, who won gold in the giant slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup, edged out swimmer Erika Fairweather, cyclist Laurence Pithie, and the sailing crew of Seb Menzies and Blake McGlashan.

Wanaka snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott missed out on the High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year award, which went to Lisa Carrington for the fourth consecutive year. The canoe racer, who claimed two world titles in 2019, collected the award ahead of Zoi, Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman, and motocross rider Courtney Duncan.

The Silver Ferns claimed New Zealand’s top sports honours for 2019 at the awards. The Netball World Cup winning team claimed the ISPS Handa Team of the Year award before being presented the supreme Halberg Award.

Wanaka snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott missed out on the High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year award. PHOTO: Red Bull

The Silver Ferns were also recognised for winning the Netball World Cup to claim the ISPS Handa Team of the Year award.

Ten awards and a Sports Hall of Fame inductee were presented during the live ceremony to honour and celebrate New Zealand sporting achievement in 2019. Hosted by the Halberg Foundation, the event was also the major fundraiser for the charity.

Israel Adesanya was named the ISPS Handa Sportsman of the Year after becoming the UFC Middleweight Champion title in 2019 and Sophie Pascoe claimed the ISPS Handa Para athlete/team of the Year category for the seventh time. 

The awards were created by Olympic champion Sir Murray Halberg (ONZ) in 1963 to honour sporting excellence and as a major fundraiser for the Halberg Foundation – his charity which aims to enhance the lives of physically disabled young New Zealanders by enabling them to participate in sport and recreation.