The annual Sport360 Award winners have been announced!
Based on the choices of our writers, we whittled each category list down to a shortlist of six, and left it YOU to decide who should triumph in each category.
From international sportsman to regional team of the year, here is the complete list of winners:
INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR – CRISTIANO RONALDO
Given the gaudy numbers he puts up every season, Ronaldo’s individual achievements tends to be measured in goals and assists but in 2016, he shone by being an integral part of two incredibly successful teams.
He scored 16 goals in 12 Champions League games as Real Madrid won their 11th European crown and six weeks later was collecting the European Championship trophy in Paris for Portugal’s first major international triumph.
By his own ridiculous standards, it wasn’t maybe Ronaldo’s greatest season in terms of his own performances but as a team-mate, it certainly was.
INTERNATIONAL SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR – KATIE LEDECKY and KATINKA HOSSZU
KATIE LEDECKY
The American teenager made a massive splash at the Rio Games, shattering the field by unheard of margins.
Ledecky won four gold medals (three individual) and a silver at the Olympics, setting two individual world records in the process and also becoming the first woman to sweep the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events at the Olympics in 48 years.
In fact, in the 800m freestyle final, Katie won with a world record time of 8:04.79, which was an incredible 11 seconds faster than the silver medallist, Jazmin Carlin.
Ledecky’s seven individual golds at the World Aquatics Championships and 11 combined individual titles at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships are records in women’s swimming. And as icing on top of a magnificent cake, Ledecky became the youngest person named to the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world this year.
Katie Ledecky.
KATINKA HOSSZU
The dynamic Hungarian swimmer had a memorable 2016. The ‘Iron Lady’ won three gold medals and a silver at the Rio Olympics, and also broke the world record in 400m individual medley and Games record in 200m individual medley. Her individual medal haul was the most by any swimmer at the Rio Olympics, a truly remarkable achievement.
It was an astonishing effort from Katinka, especially after the pain of missing out on a medal at London 2012 following which she nearly gave up. However, with support from husband and coach Shane Tusup, Katinka regained her touch and at the age of 27, beat much younger opponents.
The champions swimmer than capped off a successful year by winning her sixth gold medal at the World short-course Swimming Championships.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR – PORTUGAL
Let’s not try and sugar-coat it, Euro 2016 was a bit of a stinker. Okay, there was Iceland and Wales and a handful of good games but in the main it was one of the least memorable international tournaments since… well, probably World Cup 2010.
That being said, in a tournament of so many below-par teams, one of the giants of Europe like Germany, France or Spain would be there to sweep up.
But that’s not how it panned out as Portugal, who like Iceland and Wales but with added star power, played with a unity and spirit of a club side to beat France in the final and lift the first trophy in the country’s rich history.
REGIONAL SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR – OMAR ABDULRAHMAN
A continual criticism of the ridiculously-talented Al Ain playmaker, and one that will always be applied to players in his position, is that for all his brilliance, his inconsistency means that a team’s overall performance will always depend too much on whether he managed to turn up or not.
This year offered further evidence of that… but more often that not, Omar had the UAE and Al Ain humming. ‘Amoory’ fulfilled his destiny by, finally, being named 2016 AFC Player of the Year. This prestigious individual title followed a run of eight man-of-the-match awards in 14 games as the Boss fell to a painful defeat to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the AFC Champions League final.
This near miss, in which he failed to shine, was also repeated in the President’s Cup and Arabian Gulf League. But a lack of silverware does not take away from the technician’s sustained brilliance.
REGIONAL SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR – NADA AL BEDWAWI
The 19-year-old Emirati may not have won any medals in Rio, but made her mark before she had even stepped in the pool by becoming the nation’s first female Olympic swimmer.
Al Bedwawi – who was also given the honour of carrying the national flag at the Parade of Nations – participated in the women’s 50m freestyle and while her time of 33.42 seconds in the heats wasn’t good enough to qualify, it was a personal best, and her impact on UAE sport will be everlasting.
REGIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR – ABU DHABI PROTON RACING
An historic year for the team who finished third in the LMGTE Am class at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, becoming the first Emirati team to claim a podium place at the race.
It was also a wonderful season overall as they won the final race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain, in November to finish the season second overall in the LMGTE Am class. The result in Bahrain was the team’s second victory of the season, having also triumphed in Mexico. A fine effort from Khaled Al Qubaisi, David Heinemeier Hansson and Patrick Long.
