Derry News Sports Personality of the Year 2016
For the third year in succession, the Derry News is asking the public to vote on their ‘Sports Personality of the Year.
Last year, over 53,000 votes were received before kickboxing champion Finneen Bradley emerged as the winner, seeing off Daryl Gurney and Ciara McGurk.
Sponsored by Timberquay Restaurant, the ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ competition has proven to be incredibly popular, with debate raging amongst local sports fans as to who deserves the accolade.
This year is set to be no different. Read about the contenders below and then vote at the bottom of this page.
Connor Coyle grabbed the bull by the horns in 2016 and made the decision to turn professional. It was one of the best decisions he ever made.
He made a stunning debut with a first round knock-out of Euris Silverio in October becoming the first man to ever stop the Dominican Republican.
Rather than stop there, Coyle returned home and within three weeks he was back in the ring, defeating Santos Medrano on points.
What a year 2016 was for bodybuilder Emma Gormley. The local mum-of-four surprised even herself by climbing to the top of the mountain, all within the space of a few months.
From competing in her first bodybuilding competition just two years ago, Emma ascended to a level she never envisioned, winning both the NABBA Northern Ireland and British Championships early in 2016 before going on to win Miss Universe in Birmingham in November.
The 2015 ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ winner was an emphatic winner last year, and she will surely be in contention again after another sterling year in which she achieved even more, if that were possible.
She was seduced into competition one more time in the summer for the World Karate and Kickboxing Council World Championships in Albuferia, Portugal, where she and her son Brenainn were both entered into the WKC Hall of Fame after winning Points and Light Contact events three years in succession in their respective categories. It was a significant achievement in particular for Finneen, who became the first woman ever to be inducted. It is now seven world titles overall for Finneen, not to mention a European Championship.
Derry City were amongst the favourites for relegation last year as Kenny Shiels headed towards his first season in the League or Ireland.
But Kenny led Derry to their best season since 2012 as he secured a third place finish, thus securing European football for the club in 2017. As well as that he led the team to the semi-finals of both the League Cup and the FAI Cup.
Steve Owens is going places in the world of mixed martial arts and he has big plans for 2017.
Owens, who became PFC Pro-European K1 Champion in June last year, got an easy TKO finish when he made his professional MMA debut in September against Keith McGabe at the Foyle Arena. That was the biggest ever MMA show to hit Derry, and Owens deserves credit for his help in making that happen.
Catherine Whoriskey is a winner, of that there can be no doubt. The City of Derry Spartan has enjoyed another remarkable year, but her achievements in 2016 were especially significant.
Catherine took first place in the Waterside Half Marathon (with a PB time of 77 minutes), Dessie’s Run, the Marty Gallagher 5K and that’s just locally. She also finished an incredible 10th place in the Autumn Open Cross County Event in Dublin, a standout display against some of the best senior girls in the entire country.
Former Steelstown player O’Hea was praised in large part for saving a season that looked to be heading for disaster in the early Summer.
Alongside Eamonn Gibson, O’Hea turned things around leading the team to a mid table league finish and a Championship final.
It’s no surprise to see Eglinton man Smyth in the running for this award given yet another spectacular performance at the Paralympics in 2016.
The 29-year-old remains the fastest Paralympian in history – a record that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. He isn’t stopping there and has already announced that Tokyo 2020, which would be is fourth Paralympics, is already on his radar.
Aileen Reid avenged what she felt was disappointment in London five years ago by producing a stunning 21st place last year’s Rio Olympics Games.
The former PE teacher had spoken about the dejection of finishing in 43rd place when the Games where held in the English capital after a bike crash in wet conditions knocked her down the rankings.
The 34-year-old came from 32nd during the swim and 36th during the cycling to pull herself to within one place of the top 20.
Local man Daryl Gurney had his best year and it peaked in December when he reached the quarter-final of the World Darts Championship for the first time in his career.
His year peaked with that tournament in the Ally Pally where Van Gerwen proved just too strong but he finished 2016 with the news that he had broken into the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit.
Creggan man James McClean goes from strength to strength each year and he may well have had the best yet in 2016, peaked by the Republic of Ireland’s performance in the European Championships. He ended 2016 in fine style with a goal against Austria in World Cup qualifying that proved the winner – and put O’Neill’s team in the group driving seat.
Shane Duffy will surely reflect on 2016 as a turning point in his footballing career as he established himself as a first team choice at both club and country level.
The 25-year-old was crucial to the Republic of Ireland’s progression into the knockout stages of the Euros with an exceptional defensive display against Italy, which Ireland won 1-0.
Voting is now closed