Makazole Mapimpi, Siya Kolisi and Tatjana Schoenmaker Lead the Way in SA Sports Awards Nominations

• After a two-year hiatus, the South African Sports Awards will take place at the Durban International Convention Centre
• The nominees list was revealed, with an unsurprisingly strong Springbok presence among them
• Because of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the 2020 global sporting calendar, the period from September 2019 to August 2021 was reviewed

The nominees of the 2021 South African Sports Awards have been revealed, with a strong Springbok flavour.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, his teammate Makazole Mapimpi, swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, motorcyclist Brad Binder, paralympian Ntando Mahlangu and surfer Bianca Buitendag are just some of the names in line for top honours. The awards are across 16 categories, with the period under review being from 01 September 2019 until August 2021, factoring the upheaval of the Covid-19-affected 2020.

Kolisi, Mahlangu, Schoenmaker, Binder and Buitendag were nominated for the coveted People's Choice Award, for which the public can vote. The Sports Star of the Year award, the most prestigious of all, sees Kolisi, Mahlangu and Schoenmaker getting the nod.

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The department of sport said in a statement:

"These awards are particularly significant because they recognise the resilience demonstrated by the athletes. In addition, the awards highlight the Olympic year that acknowledges great achievements from our 2019 Olympic and Paralympic participants."

This year's award ceremony, the 15th to ever take place, will be held at the Durban International Convention Centre.

2021 nominees list:

Sports Star of the Year: Tatjana Schoenmaker, Ntando Mahlangu, Siya Kolisi

Sport Awards People’s Choice: Ntando Mahlangu, Brad Binder, Siya Kolisi, Bianca Buitendag, Tatjana Schoenmaker

Sportsman of the Year: Greg Minnaar, Matthew Sates, Makazole Mapimpi

Sportsman of the Year with a Disability: Pieter du Preez, Ntando Mahlangu, Mpumelelo Mhlongo

Sportswoman of the Year: Tatjana Schoenmaker, Bianca Buitendag, Liezelle Lee

Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability: Anruné Liebenberg-Weyers, Louzanne Coetzee and Guides, Estean Badenhorst and Claus Kempen Sheryl James

Team of the Year: Springboks, Spar Proteas Netball, Men’s 4x100 Relay

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Newcomer of the Year: Ronald Brown, Miné de Klerk, Janneman Malan

Coach of the Year: Neil Cornelius, Johan (Rassie) Erasmus, Rocco Meiring

Sport Administrator of the Year: Ndumiso Njabulo Nyawose, Cornelia Swanepoel, Anne Vermaak

Volunteer of the Year: Jodie Ellinor Dreyer, Owen Gabaotswe, Renuka Ramoop

Indigenous Games Team of the Year: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape

National Federation of the Year: SASAPD, Surfing, SA Rugby

Recreation Body of the Year: Local Surf Lounge Academy, Skateistan (Gauteng), Fight With Insight (Gauteng)

Photographer of the Year: Roger Sedres, Frennie Shivambu, Reinhardt Hamman

Journalist of the Year: Timothy Molobi, Thabiso Mosia, Robert Marawa

South Africa to lose gold medal after World Relay champion Thando Dlodlo Is banned for doping

South Africa sprint relay world champion team is facing the bleak prospect of having its gold medal stripped.

As reported on Sports Brief, Thando Dlodlo, one of the quartet that stunned the world in 2021, received a two-and-a-half-year ban for using the prohibited susbtance testosterone "and its related compounds".

According to the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sports, his anti-doping rule violation was "the presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or makers in an athlete's sample.