ANDY MURRAY added another accolade to his Wimbledon and Olympic crowns this year when he was named the 2016 Scottish Sportsperson of the Year at the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards in Edinburgh last night.
With more than 50 Scottish Olympians and Paralympians from the recent Games in Rio in attendance, the evening was a star-studded celebration of their outstanding achievements as well as the successes of individuals, schools, clubs and teams across the whole of Scottish sport.
It is the third time Murray has lifted the Emirates Lonsdale Trophy, first taking the title jointly with Sir Chris Hoy in 2012 after London Olympic gold and claiming the title outright the following year after his first Wimbledon title.
His third triumph comes in a year which saw a repeat of both those achievements, along with a record fifth Queen’s Club title and other notable firsts, including becoming the first British man to reach the French Open final since 1937.
Indeed it was a special night for tennis, with Britain’s Davis Cup Team named Team of the Year, and Gordon Reid Para-sport Athlete of the Year, following a first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, Wimbledon singles and doubles titles and Paralympic gold and silver.
“It has been a fantastic season for me winning Wimbledon and retaining my Olympic title," Murray said. "I am delighted to be awarded the 2016 Scottish Sportsperson of the Year Award for the third time, particularly given all the incredible performances by other Scots this year.”
Heather Stanning’s five-year winning streak in the coxless pairs, culminating in a second Olympic gold in Rio with Helen Glover, gave her the nod for Female Athlete of the Year ahead of fellow rower Katherine Grainger and cyclist Katie Archibald, while Grainger’s outstanding achievements over a long and illustrious career were also recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Just beginning her career at 16 years old, triple Paralympic medallist in athletics, Maria Lyle, took the Sir Peter Heatly Trophy for the Young Athlete of the Year.
One of the most eagerly anticipated results of the night was Sporting Moment of the Year, after thousands cast their vote in an online poll, and it was Hibernian’s last-minute winner to lift the Scottish Cup after a 114-year wait.
Alongside the achievements of Scotland’s top athletes and teams, the individuals and organisations driving this success were also honoured. Ben Higson and Steven Tigg jointly took Coach of the Year in recognition of the phenomenal success of their group of University of Stirling swimmers, while the late Richard Thomas was named Sports Leader of the Year, his input at Boxing Scotland, prior to his sudden passing in March, leading to a complete renaissance in the sport.
Paul Bush OBE, Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said: “These Awards in their new format have been a resounding success as we celebrate what has been a truly outstanding year for Scottish sport. The phenomenal achievements of 2016 auger well as we look ahead to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 18 months’ time, where many of these athletes will go for gold for Team Scotland.
“A huge thank you to our sponsors, whose support has made this fantastic event possible and enables us to properly recognise the achievements of the individuals, teams and organisations that help to put Scotland on the sporting map.”
Award Winners
Scottish Sportsperson of the Year – Emirates Lonsdale Trophy
Andy Murray OBE, Tennis
Male Athlete of the Year – sponsored by Commonwealth Games Scotland
Andy Murray OBE, Tennis
Female Athlete of the Year – sponsored by EDF Energy
Heather Stanning MBE, Rowing
Para-Sport Athlete of the Year – sponsored by CGI
Gordon Reid, Wheelchair Tennis
Team of the Year – sponsored by PSL / Canterbury
GB Davis Cup Team, Tennis
Coach of the Year – sponsored by University of Stirling
Ben Higson & Steven Tigg, Swimming
Sporting Moment of the Year – sponsored by The Scottish Sun
Hibs score last minute goal to end 114 year wait for a Scottish Cup title - Football
Young Athlete of the Year – sponsored by EDF Energy
Maria Lyle, Para-Athletics
Sports Leader of the Year – sponsored by Brand Oath
Richard Thomas, Boxing
Governing Body of the Year – sponsored by Bluefin Sport
Scottish Athletics
Community Hub, Club or School of the Year – sponsored by sportscotland
Aviemore Community Sports Hub
Legacy 2014 Award – sponsored by Legacy 2014
SDS Disability Inclusion Training
Lifetime Achievement – sponsored by Commonwealth Games Scotland
Katherine Grainger CBE, Rowing
Team Scot of the Year – sponsored by European Championships 2018
Steph Inglis, Judo
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here