The top sportsmen in the province will be honoured for their achievements at the Free State Sport Stars gala dinner.
The grand dinner is a continuation of the former Free State Sports Media’s function. The latter was previously known as the event of the Free State Sports Writers Association.
The awards honours international accomplishments from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022. Standard Bank is the main sponsor of this event.
The previous sportsman of the year was the Protea cricket player Duanne Olivier, in 2019.
Among the top achievers, these sportsmen were nominated in 2022:
Kobus Barnard (archery)
Barnard won a silver medal in the open category at the World Field Archery Championships in Estonia. The former world champion also claimed a gold medal at the championships while he was competing as a member of the South African team. In 2022, he took the honours at the national indoor championships, as well as at the Free State and South African field archery competitions.
Alexander Coetzee (bisley)
Coetzee, who has been a South African champion before, competed in the British Open Championships.
He won a silver medal at the competition in Bisley, England.
This bisley competitor had previously finished third at the British Open and therefore improved on his previous best.
Caden Kakora (badminton)
The national men’s doubles champion competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and contributed to South Africa competing in a quarter-final match for the first time. In the men’s singles he reached the 32nd round of 32. Kakora played in the Thomas & Uber Cup African Championships and was part of the South African men’s team that won a bronze medal.
Wilco Nienaber (golf)
Nienaber competed against some of the best golfers in the world in places like Scotland, the Czech Republic and Qatar. Some of his highlights include a seventh place (-17) at the Hero Open at St Andrews, an eighth position (-11) at the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague and an 12th position (-3) at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Rilee Rossouw (cricket)
Rossouw made a comeback to international cricket after six years. He represented the Proteas in the T20 internationals in England and India. In his second game back, he scored 96* (from 55 balls) against England in Cardiff, Wales. The left-handed batsman helped the Knights win the Cricket South Africa Provincial T20 Cup.
Frans Steyn (rugby)
On 2 October 2021, during the last game of the Rugby Championship tournament, Steyn aided as a Springbok replacement in the 31 – 29 victory against the All Blacks in the Gold Coast, Australia. He featured in victories against Wales (23 – 18) and Scotland (30 – 15) in Europe, and a narrow loss to England (26 – 27). This year, he played four Rugby Championship matches.
Robert Summers (badminton)
Summers represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Games. The national men’s singles and doubles champion reached the 16th round of 16 (mixed doubles) and the 32nd round of 32 (men’s singles and doubles) in Birmingham. He helped South Africa reach their first Commonwealth quarter-final. At the All Africa Championships he won two bronze medals (men’s doubles and team). He won a men’s bronze medal at the Thomas & Uber Cup African Championships with South Africa.
– Jóhann Thormählen
