RACHAEL BLACKMORE HAS been crowned RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year for 2021, following a year which saw the Tipperary jockey achieve a series of historic firsts on the racetrack.
In March, Blackmore became the first woman to be named leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival after bringing six winners home, including success with Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle, an achievement which saw her become the first woman to win Cheltenham’s headline event.
A month later Blackmore achieved more history in becoming the first woman to win the Grand National, steering home Minella Times at Aintree.
The 32-year-old came out on top of an eight-person shortlist, which included six women.
The other nominees were Kellie Harrington, Ellen Keane, Cian Lynch, Leona Maguire, Jason Smyth, Katie Taylor and Vikki Wall.
Watch Rachael Blackmore – A Grand Year on RTÉ One on 29 December at 9.25pm
Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was named Young Sportsperson of the year after a breakout season between the sticks for Stephen Kenny’s side, highlights of which included saving a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty away to Portugal and an extraordinary save in Luxembourg.
The42′s Paul Fennessy charted the 19-year-old’s rise in a Read earlier today.
Ireland’s lightweight rowing head coach Dominic Casey was named Manager of the Year after steering his fellow Skibbereen men Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy to dominance at both the European Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
Tokyo Paralympians Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal were voted Team of the Year, meanwhile, after their best ever Games at which the tandem para-cycling stars won two golds and a silver. Dunlevy and McCrystal pushed their British equivalents all the way at the velodrome in the B 3,000m individual pursuit. On the roads of Mount Fuji, they retained the time trial title they won in Rio five years ago, before completing their triple medal haul in the B road race at the Fuji International Speedway.
Also this evening, double World cross country champion, Olympic silver medallist and soon-to-be-retiring Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy was inducted to the RTÉ Sport Hall of Fame.
