After an unprecedented year both on and off the field Joanne Cantwell and Darragh Maloney presented the RTÉ Sport Awards 2020 on RTÉ One tonight celebrating the stellar achievements of Irish sportspeople in 2020 in the face of never-before-seen challenges.
Katie Taylor won the RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year award for a second time. Taylor put on a boxing masterclass to successfully defend her undisputed lightweight belts against challenger Miriam Gutierrez, inflicting a first professional defeat on the Spaniard. In August, the Bray boxer defeated her nemesis Delfine Persoon in a gruelling rematch. Taylor finished the year being named Ring Magazine's 'Female Fighter of the Year' for the second year in succession.
The other nominees for the award were Ciarán Kilkenny, Gearóid Hegary, Sanita Puspure, Colin Keane and Sam Bennett.
Limerick teenager Oisin O'Callaghan was named Young Sportsperson of the Year after claiming a first ever downhill gold for Ireland at the Junior World Mountain Bike Championships in Austria. It was O’Callaghan’s first ever race at that level. The 17-year-old followed up his win in Austria with two stage wins at the recently held World Cup competition in Portugal.
Limerick manager John Kiely won Manager of the Year as the Treaty boss saw his impressive Limerick team go through the year unbeaten. They were the standout hurlers in 2020, winning back-to-back league and Munster titles, as well as regaining the Liam McCarthy Cup they last won in 2018.
Kiely's Limerick charges over-powered Waterford to complete the perfect season and reclaim the All-Ireland hurling title. The Treaty County won all ten of their competitive 2020 matches to claim the League, Munster and All-Ireland titles and tonight were named as the RTÉ Sport Team of the Year.
Picture credit: Andres Poveda
See Also: Balls.ie's Ranking Of The Top 10 Irish Sporting Secondary Schools
