Editor’s note: And the sports awards go to…

I cannot actually believe that 2014 is nearing its completion.

It was my first full year as a sports journalist at the Benoni City Times and it sure was a fantastic one indeed.

While compiling the regular “Sports Year in Review” article for an upcoming edition of the BCT I was reminded how busy and successful 2014 was for our local sportspeople.

In the past, during the legendary BCT sport journalist Rob McBride’s time, a well-organised, well-judged and sponsored “Sportsperson of the Year Award” was held and a function held to honour Benoni’s star performers.

Today, we do not quite have an award for the top Benoni performer of the year (we might consider doing something similar in future if we find a good sponsor/s, hint hint) but there are still sportspeople who deserve some mention and praise for the things that they have accomplished this year.

For me, personally, there are three athletes deserving of this fictitious title (let’s call it the Logan G Sports Award) and they are:

* MPHO MADI (Wrestling): Mpho is one of the most inspiring people that I have encountered in my life. She spent the vast majority of her young life at Kids Haven in Cranbourne Avenue and used the power of sport to totally transform her life.

She became the first female South African wrestler to ever win a medal at the Commonwealth Games and was subsequently nominated for an SA Sports Award for her achievement.

When Mpho returned to Kids Haven to show the children there her medal it was one of the best days that I have had on the job from a motivation and inspiration point of view.

* ROWAN EBERSOHN (Baseball): The 2014 Benoni Northerns Sportsperson of the Year is also one of the most dedicated sportspeople that I have seen. This year he put pen to paper on a brilliant seven-year deal with his boyhood dream club, the Minnesota Twins in the USA.

The youngster eats, sleeps and breathes baseball and puts in countless hours of practice into his game. He is also a really humble guy and I truly believe that humility is one of the most important character traits that an athlete can possess.

* GARETH SAWYER (Mixed martial arts): Dedication to their respective sporting codes seems to be the theme that I have going here and Gareth is certainly a guy who shows outright commitment to his sport.

He made the big step up from the amateur mixed martial arts scene to the fastest growing professional sport in the country and won his first two pro fights.

I remember sitting with Gareth at the Northmead Square Spur a week before his second EFC fight and feeling pretty darn sorry for myself because I was drinking an ice cold beer while he was sipping on a glass of water – priorities, I guess! Despite his loss last night in his third fight, at EFC 36, the former Benoni High School pupil is as driven as ever to bounce back stronger.

Well done to all the contestants in the Logan G Sports Awards, you all win… absolutely nothing!

Although I have nothing tangible to give you, you do receive the utmost respect and a salute from this little ol’ community sport reporter.

Cheers!

Here’s to 2015!

LG