Sailor Tom Burton OAM wins top honour at NSW Sports Awards

Rio Olympic gold medal winning sailor Tom Burton has beaten a star-studded field, including Australian men’s cricket captain Steve Smith, bronze medal canoeist Jessica Fox, bronze medal equestrian rider Stuart Tinney OAM, GWS Giants netballer Susan Pettitt and rugby league’s Dally M Female Player of the Year Kezie Apps, to claim the top honour at the NSW Sports Awards tonight.

Tom had a standout year in 2016 with a first place finish at the Sailing World Cup and third place at the Laser World Championship. He stepped it up at the Olympics in Rio, sailing the race of his life in the final race of the series to claim an unlikely victory and Australia’s only sailing gold medal.

A total of 14 awards were presented at the prestigious Awards gala dinner at Navarra Venue’s Curzon Hall, with categories to recognise the finest achievements of coaches, administrators, volunteers, officials, masters and young athletes and athletes and teams with a disability.

The NSW Sports Awards is an all-embracing event that acknowledges the breadth of sporting activity and achievement across the state every year including the all-important distinguished long service awards for those that have given exceptional long-time service to their sport.

This year’s event was a great success, with 450 guests coming together for an evening of celebration including NSW Minister for Sport The Hon. Stuart Ayres MP, with experienced ABC radio journalist Tracey Holmes hosting the event.

Sport NSW received a record number of award nominations this year and Sport NSW Chairperson Joseph La Posta was delighted with the response.

“Tonight we have had a record number of finalists and a sell-out event and we couldn’t be happier with how the night has gone. It is a fantastic illustration of the strength and passion of the NSW sporting family and we are delighted that we can reward so many at these awards,” said Mr La Posta.

Maddison Elliott OAM was awarded the Athlete of the Year with a Disability title after her phenomenal performance at the Rio Paralympics, winning three gold and two silver medals, as well as breaking two world records and making history as the first woman to swim the S8 50m freestyle in under 30 seconds.

Sydney Thunder Big Bash Team won the Team of the Year (National Professional Leagues) award following a successful Big Bash League season in 2016, rising to win its first title with victory over the Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Sydney Thunder has made remarkable progress as one of the most popular sports teams in Sydney, with average TV ratings per game being the highest of any club from any code in Sydney.

In further recognition of the Sydney Thunder, their General Manager Nick Cummins took home the Administrator of the Year trophy, and the Women's Big Bash League team were rewarded for their win in the inaugural 2016 Women's Big Bash League.

Michael Blackburn was amid the top award winners, taking out the Coach of the Year category for his back-to-back gold medal winning efforts with Tom Burton at the Rio Olympics. The medal race in Rio is remembered for its tactical brilliance, engineered by Michael and Tom.

AFL NSW/ACT was victorious in claiming the Organisation of the Year Award against some tough competition in Cricket NSW, Equestrian NSW, Hockey NSW, Netball NSW and NSW Goalball. AFL NSW/ACT had a record nine players drafted to AFL clubs in 2016 and worked closely with GWS Giants to develop the new AFL Women’s team.

Full list of Award winners below:

Distinguished Long Service Recipients: