Simbine, van der Walt the big winners at inaugural ASA awards

Simbine and van der Walt collected the Male and Female Athlete of the Year gongs respectively, including prize money of R50 000 cash and a business class voucher for two from sponsors Qatar Airways to a holiday destination of their choice.

Having defended his national 100m title and claimed silver medals at the African Senior Championships and Commonwealth Games, as well as a fifth-place finish at the World Championships in the USA, Simbine reflects on the year that was.

"2022 was a good year but not a year that I would have wanted, but I'm not going to look at the negatives, I'll look at the positives – I'm Athlete of the Year in South Africa, and just being recognised for that is really amazing," said the 29-year-old.

"And being recognised for the work that I'm doing in representing my country on an international scale is really amazing, and thank you ASA for actually hosting the first ASA awards in my time of running. I just hope for better and better, and more awards to come up."

For 22-year-old van der Walt, 2022 was special after she won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as well as gold at the SA National Championships in her discipline of 400m hurdles.

"I'm feeling very grateful to have received the Female Athlete of the Year award, and I think it's just a really great opportunity tonight for everyone to come together and all our victories are celebrated and that we are recognised for all the hard work we put in on the track," she said.