Mthembu wins two awards in 2017 KZN Sport Awards

KwaZulu-Natal’s ultra-marathon runner, Bongumusa Mthembu, dominated the medals honours when he scooped two awards during the 2017 KZN Sport Awards at the Durban ICC Arena on Friday evening, 15/09/17.

Mthembu was voted Sports Personality of the Year and later crowned Sportsman of the Year at the glittering function attended by hundreds of people. The Sports Personality was voted for by the public through an SMS-vote line, while the other awards were selected by a panel of independent judges. The shortlisting process for nominees and results of the SMS line were audited by an independent audit firm.

Another top award, the Sports Women of the Year category was won by netball star and Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi.

Speaking during the glittering ceremony attended by the who’s who in the KZN sports fraternity, MEC for Arts, Culture Sport and Recreation, Bongi Sithole-Moloi said the Awards were aimed at encouraging sporting excellence in the Province.

“These awards are about the celebration of talent, excellence, resilience, hard work and dedication. They are about showcasing the best of what KwaZulu-Natal has to offer, in terms of talent on and off the field of play,” she said.

“The 2017 KwaZulu-Natal Sport Awards honours the achievements of our athletes, administrators, coaches, media, entities and individuals who performed gallantly, in their different fields, during the period from the 1st August 2016 to 31 July 2017.”

MEC Sithole-Moloi added that sport plays an important role in uniting people and in keeping the youth away from social ills like drug abuse.

“Next year we'd like to raise the bar even higher and hope to see more young people participating in sports," she said

Mthembu was full of praise for the Provincial Government for giving recognition to athletes.

"I'd like to thank God for this opportunity, I wasn't expecting this. But with all the hard work that I put in it shows that it pays off at the end. I'd also like to thank all the people who believed in me, my sponsors and my coach. I really wasn't expecting to win two awards. Especially the Sports Personality of the Year award. I thank all those who voted for me. It shows that the people really love Bongumusa Mthembu," he said.

Msomi said she hopes her achievements would encourage more girls to participate in sport.

"I’d really like to see the more girls who want to play this sport throughout the Province motivated through my talent. I'm really humbled by this award, I'm also very excited that I'll be representing my country in Australia towards the end of October," she said.

The Department would like to congratulate all the winners, including all nominees shortlisted for the different categories.

#OmpethaBethu!

2017 KZN Sport Awards winners: