Lucie-Smith and Fisher Win at Wellington Sports Awards

Swimming New Zealand featured strongly last night at the Wellington Sports Awards. Samantha Lucie-Smith won the Emerging Sportswoman of the Year Award and London Paralympic superstar Mary Fisher took out the Disabled Athlete of the Year in front of 500 guests at the Wellington Town Hall.

Lucie-Smith made her senior international debut at the London Olympics last year in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay where the team finished eleventh and broke the national record. She is a New Zealand age group record holder who currently trains under Gary Hurring at the Capital swim club. The 20-year-old was unable to accept her award in person last night as she is currently in Europe with the State AquaBlacks preparing for the World Championships in July in Barcelona.

Fisher won a whopping four medals at her debut Paralympics in London last year. The 20-year-old won gold in the 200m Individual Medley in world record time, as well as silver in the 100m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke, and bronze in the 50m Freestyle. She broke world records in the women's 50m butterfly S11, 100m butterfly S11, and 200m Butterfly S11 events at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships and was also the winner of the People's Choice Award at the New Zealand Swimming Awards - an honour never won before by an athlete with an impairment.