JOE Men of the Year Awards: Sports Star of the Year

2016 might have been crap in a general sense, but there was certainly welcome relief to be found in a sporting sense.

Having already focussed specifically on football, rugby and GAA, this category seeks to honour those who excelled in fields and arenas outside of that big three, such as the Olympics (excluding all administrative activity), the Paralympics and a certain someone tearing it up in the UFC. Our five nominees below certainly had a 2016 to remember; cast your vote for who you deem most worthy of the award at the bottom of the page.

Padraig Harrington

It’s genuinely hard to think of a sportsman that the nation roots for more than we do for the three-time major winner. Harrington will undoubtedly go down as one of Ireland’s all-time sporting greats, but he’s not quite done just yet, as he showed with a typically gutsy victory in the Portugal Masters in October, his first European Tour win in eight years. In true Harrington style, it was not without its speed bumps as he hit the grandstand with his approach to the 18^th and required a great up and down to win by one shot. To see how much it meant to him warmed the heart in a year in which he became one of Ireland’s first golfing representatives at the Olympics and delivered a more than respectable performance in Rio.

The O’Donovan Brothers

For a few weeks during the summer, the O’Donovan brothers from Cork completely dominated the national discourse thanks to their memorable displays in Rio and personalities that captured the hearts of the nation. In the water, a silver medal in the men’s lightweight double sculls final at the Olympics was followed by gold for Paul O’Donovan in the lightweight single sculls at the World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam. Out of the water, they’ve been on the Late Late, are due to appear on the Graham Norton New Year’s Eve special and made sure that every interview they did on RTÉ during the Olympics wasn’t about to be forgotten in a hurry. When you’re still saying ‘Pull like a dog’ in 20 years’ time and wondering who’s responsible, think of these lads.

Conor McGregor

The first ever simultaneous two-division champion in the UFC’s history (good luck to the UFC getting that featherweight belt back), undisputedly the biggest star in the history of the organisation and probably the most recognisable Irish person in the world right now, 2016 was pretty decent for The Notorious. With talk of fighting Floyd Mayweather, rumblings about a future in the movie business doing the rounds and a son or daughter on the way in 2017, the world is McGregor’s oyster right now and he’s going to make the most of it while he can.

Thomas Barr

Barr may have (just) missed out on a medal in the 400 metres hurdles in Rio, but when posting a time of 47.97 in the final, an Irish record, it was the second time he topped his own personal best this year (the first time was the Olympic semi-final), a remarkable rate of improvement. The fact that he did so despite being, in his own words, “riddled” with hip and groin injuries for most of the year leading into the Olympics made his achievements all the more impressive.

Jason Smyth

The fastest Paralympian in history won his third consecutive Paralympic 100 metres title in Rio in September, blitzing the field with yet another breath-taking display of speed and dominance. Still the Paralympic World Record holder in the 100 metres and 200 metres and fully deserving of his title as the Usain Bolt of the Paralympic Games, Smyth will go down as one of the greatest Paralympians and sprinters in history.