Ireland's finest take a bow

Some of the best-known personalities in Irish sport are among the winners of the 45th annual Texaco awards, which are announced today.

The full list of winners is: Athletics - Sonia O'Sullivan; Equestrian Sports - Dermott Lennon; Gaelic Football - Kieran McGeeney; Golf - Padraig Harrington; Horse Racing - Tony McCoy; Hurling - Henry Sheflin; Rowing - Sam Lynch; Rugby - Brian O'Drscoll; Soccer - Damian Duff; Winter Sports - Clifton Wrottsley.

ATHLETICS - Sonia O'Sullivan:

By her own standards, 2002 might be considered a disappointing year, but Sonia O'Sullivan still made it to the victory podium in three major events. Less than three months after giving birth to her second daughter, O'Sullivan showed remarkable resolve to anchor the Irish team to a bronze medal in the World Cross Country Championships at Leopardstown in March. Needing a top-10 finish to lift the team into a medal-winning place, the 32-year-old came seventh to guarantee a medal for her and her team-mates. She had an indifferent summer on the track but she almost won gold in the 5,000 metres at the European championships in Munich, finishing behind Spain's Marta Dominguez. She doubled her tally of silver medals at the Europeans when she finished second behind Paula Radcliffe in the 10,000 metres.

EQUESTRIAN SPORTS - Dermott Lennon:

Dermott Lennon wins his third Texaco award in a row for his gold-medal winning performance in the individual championship at the world equestrian games. The Co Down-born rider went to Jerez in Spain as an outsider, but brilliant horsemanship put him in the frame for a medal on the final day. With the title down to the last four, Lennon had a clear round on his own mare Liscalgot and followed that with clears on two of his opponents horses before finishing with only one fence down in four rounds. The 32-year-old became the first Irishman to win a championship that eluded such Irish greats as Eddie Macken and Gerry Mullins.

GAELIC FOOTBALL - Kieran McGeeney:

Kieran McGeeney was the foundation for the first All-Ireland win by Armagh footballers. The 31-year-old, who made his senior debut in 1989, was the pivotal player for Armagh in the crucial second half of an epic final against Kerry. In an awesome display, McGeeney stood rock solid at centre back and drove his team forward. The Na Fianna player's contribution in that game, and throughout the championship, was recognised by his peers when he picked up the GPA Player of the Year.

HURLING - Henry Shefflin:

Kilkenny's 27th All-Ireland hurling title owed much to the sublime skills of Henry Shefflin. The Ballyhale player was his county's outstanding player in their All-Ireland final success over Clare in which he scored 1-7, mostly from play. That performance was built on a summer of tough championship encounters against Tipperary in the semi-final and an even tougher win over Wexford in the Leinster final. In both of those crucial games, Sheflin was Kilkenny's top scorer, picking of

GOLF - Padraig Harrington:

By any yardstick, 2002 was a year to treasure for Padraig Harrington. He rose to as high as sixth in the world rankings with a string of outstanding performances, particularly in the majors. Harrington went to Augusta in April and shot four sub-par rounds to finish joint fifth with Ernie Els in the US Masters. In the US Open he finished eighth and came within a shot of forcing himself into a play-off for the British Open at Muirfield.

Although tournament success eluded Harrington in the summer, autumn proved more rewarding. A key member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team at the Belfry, Harrington went to St Andrews to win the Dunhill championship after a play-off. That victory was followed by wins on two other continents as Harrington captured the Asian Open and then went into Tiger Woods backyard this month to win the Target Challenge. He goes into 2003 leading the Order of Merit, having narrowly failed to Retief Goosen for the title this year.

HORSE RACING - Tony McCoy:

Record after record fell to Tony McCoy in the past year as the Co Antrim born-rider became the most successful jump jockey in British history. Since he started riding in England in 1994, McCoy has been a phenomenon, riding 74 winners in his first year as a conditional jockey and following that with six successive champion jockey titles. A winner of the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle, the 28-year-old sealed his place in history at Uttoxeter in August when his 1,700th winner, Montefalco, put him ahead of Richard Dunwoody. But McCoy's record-breaking did not stop there. He ended the 2001-02 season on 289 winners, smashing Gordon Richards' 1947 record of 269.

ROWING - Sam Lynch:

Limerickman Sam Lynch wins his second successive award after a year in which he retained his lightweight single sculls title at the world championships in Seville in September. His achievement was recognised by the sport's governing body FISA when the medical student was on a shortlist of three for male rower of the year. However, he lost out to the British pair Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell. The win in the final in Seville was Lynch's 13th on the trot in international events as he had gone unbeaten through the year. He has decided not to defend his title next year, opting to try to form a lightweight double with his eyes on a medal in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

RUGBY - Brian O'Driscoll:

Brian O'Driscoll's displays for Leinster and Ireland in 2002 underlined his status as one of the greatest players in the modern game. Still only 23, O'Driscoll played in all 13 internationals for Ireland in 2002, captaining the side in the autumn internationals when Ireland recorded their first victory over Australia since 1979. In the Six Nations against Scotland O'Driscoll scored a hat-trick of tries as Ireland won 43-22. On the summer tour of New Zealand he scored drop-goals in both Tests. Against Romania and Georgia he scored tries and his year was rounded off with a try against Fiji. That score brought his try-tally to 17, equalling Brendan Mullin's record.

SOCCER - Damian Duff:

The controversy of Sapian may have been a constant thread throughout the Republic of Ireland's participation in the World Cup finals, but when it came to the matches Damian Duff emerged as a true star. The Blackburn player tortured some of the best defensive players in the world in the four games the Republic played.

After a quiet start against Cameroon, Duff was a constant threat against Germany and only the brilliance of Oliver Kahn prevented him from scoring. After a wonderful display against Saudi Arabia in which he scored, Duff set his sights on Spain in the last 16 game. In one of the best individual performances of the tournament, the Dubliner was scintillating. Forced to play out of position in some games, Duff 's talent was one of the abiding memories from Japan and Korea.

WINTER SPORTS - Lord Clifton Wrottesley:

The Dublin-born baron almost created Irish Olympic history when he finished fourth in the skeleton event at the Winter Olympics in February. In an event where competitors shoot down a bobsleigh track head-first on a railed tray, Wrottsley was in contention with two flawless runs in Salt Lake City. Before the final runs, the 33-year-old London-based athlete, who was not expected to finish in the top 10, stood in third place. A poor draw and some fresh snow slowed the Irishman and he was overtaken by 0.35 of a second for bronze. His performance was by far the best by an Irish competitor since Ireland started competing at the Winter Olympics in 1992.