This is it! The final six.

For the past week, the Derry public has been voting in their numbers for their favourite to lift the 2016 Derry News Sports Personality of the Year award.

Sponsored by Timberquay Restaurant and BeYou Massage Therapy, this year’s competition has proven to be the most talked about, most shared, and closest run event so far, with only a handful of votes separating some of the best sportsmen and sportswomen in our city.

What started out as 12, has now been cut to the final six, and the voting begins again, starting now. So pick your favourite from the following and ensure that your pick is the winner this time around!

Shane Duffy

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.

Finneen Bradley

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. Overaall, it is now seven World titles and one European title for Finneen.

Kenny Shiels

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.

Jason Smyth

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.

Daryl Gurney

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.

James McClean

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.

Vote Now!

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