Pini set for another award

CHAMPION swimmer Ryan Pini is the leading contender for another Male Athlete of the Year Award at tomorrow night’s SP Sports Awards in Port Moresby.
The evening at the Crowne Plaza hotel will see 33 finalists vie for awards in 11 categories.
Port Moresby-born Pini was named the athlete of the 2015 Pacific Games, after winning six gold medals and helping Team PNG finish on top of the medal tally.
The 34-year-old has previously won the SP Award male athlete of the year on four previous occasions: 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2011.
The Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE) recipient was appointed as the Athletes’ Representative on the Pacific Games Council and is expected to represent his country at the Rio Olympic Games in August, making it his fourth Olympics.
Pini is expected to retire from competitive swimming after Rio.
The other two nominees for the male athlete award are rugby league’s Israel Eliab and bodybuilder Jack Viyufa —both men also won gold medals at last year’s Pacific Games.
Eliab’s stellar form in the Queensland Cup over the SP Hunters’ first two seasons, coupled with his captaincy of the side and winning the competition’s five-eighth of the year award twice (2014, 2015) while also being the club’s leading try-scorer (22 tries), puts him in good stead.
Viyufa defended the gold medal he won at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, taking out first-place in his 75kg division in Port Moresby last year.
SP Sports Awards selection panel chairman Moses Koiri named the top three finalists for each category last month in Port Moresby after the huge response from the public with 138 nominations received. Also announced was the opening of voting by the public for the People’s Choice Award.
The award this year is sponsored by FM100, who ran the voting through its SMS system.
SP Sports Awards finalists: Male Athlete of the Year – Israel Eliab, Ryan Pini, Jack Viyufa; Female Athlete of the Year – Linda Pulsan, Abigail Tere Apisah, Toea Wisil; Team of the Year – Men’s Touch Team, Women’s Football Team, Women’s Va’a V12 Team; National Performance of the Year – Epari Souths of Pangia, Lae City Dwellers, Ephraim Larkin; Community Sports Initiative – Equal Playing Field, New Ireland Triathlon Association, Sabama Touch; Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Thadeus Katua, Maxemillion Kassman, Mathew Stubbings; Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Violet Apisah, Rama Kumilgo, Lynette Vai; Best Sportsperson with a Disability – Haoda Agari, Vero Nime, Sent Anis; Sports Official of the Year – Johnathan Kassman, Barbara Stubbings, Elizabeth Wells; Sports Media of the Year – EMTV – 2015 Pacific Games TV Coverage; NBC – 2015 Pacific Games Radio Coverage; Fidelis Sukina – Reporter, Sunday Chronicle; Sports Photo of the Year – “For You PNG” by Mark Talia – Toea Wisil 100m Finish, “Try Time” by Mark Talia – PNG Pukpuks Try, “Tears of Glory” by Mahlon Winston – Para-athlete Sent Anis on the podium; People’s Choice Award.