With over 20 years in the sports media, "The Chief" knows all .. sees all .. and happily shares it with the rest of us.
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Written by The Chief
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Scott Dixons outstanding win at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday morning gives us the opportunity for much debate and discussion.
Firstly, was this performance good enough to elevate him to Halberg Sportsperson of the Year favoritism, or will someone or some persons who win Gold at the Beijing Olympics get the nod? How do you compare Scotts achievement of winning one of the worlds greatest motor racing events with that of winning at the Olympics? Traditionally the Halberg’s have not treated motor sport kindly, Denny Hulme and Ivan Mauger being the exceptions, so does it come down yet again to the voting Academy which invariably doesn't include a motorsport advocate.
While you are pondering that scenario, thing about this, where does this win place Scott in terms of NZ’s other motoring successes? Just some of these include, obviously, Denny Hulmes Formula One Championship win, the McLaren domination of Can Am racing over several years, Ivan Maugers World Speedway titles, Graham Crosbys exploits on both two and four wheels, and the list goes on. Does this win at The Brickyard in arguably the biggest one day sporting event in America mean more that those I have listed, you decide. For what it is worth, I believe Denny Hulmes Formula One Championship win is a greater achievement, closely followed by Scotts, but then I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to racing on four wheels.
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Discuss (2 posts)
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Re:Does a Win at The Brickyard Guarantee a Helberg ?
Dec 23 2008 19:20:00
It may not get you a win but it will get you a nomination for sportsman of the year.
Other contenders are:
Tom Ashley (board sailing), Moss Burmester (swimming), Nathan Cayless (rugby league), Scott Dixon (motorsport), Kalon Dobbin (roller sport), Bevan Docherty (triathlon), Mahe Drysdale (rowing), Hayden Godfrey (cycling), Gary Lawson (bowls), Danny Lee (golf), Cameron Leslie (swimming), Simon Mannering (rugby league), Benji Marshall (rugby league), Karl Purdie (yachting), Hayden Roulston (cycling), Manu Vatuvei (rugby league), Colin Waghorn (shooting), Ben Willis (surf life saving) and Nick Willis (athletics).
From this list I think the only real threat to Scott would be Nick Willis. A bronze in the 1500m at Bejing and the fact NZ has this massive romantic notion where that event is concerned will play big time into his hands.
I guess we will have to wait and see who the final few are when this list gets cut down in early January.
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#61 |
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Re:Does a Win at The Brickyard Guarantee a Helberg ?
Sep 08 2008 23:16:24
Now that he has won the championship I can't see how he could be overlooked. Sure he is part of a team setup, but it isn't that different from the setup the rowers or other olympic athletes have.
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#57 |
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