Olympian Regan Gough won Hawke's Bay's Sportsperson of the Year award for the second time tonight.
The long-time New Zealand cycling representative was unable to attend the Forsyth Barr-sponsored awards function in Taradale's Pettigrew-Green Arena because of training commitments in Cambridge. Gough, 22, was represented by his parents Penny and Dean.
Waipukurau's Gough had earlier in the evening won the senior award. Among his highlights during the judging period for the award was helping the New Zealand men's pursuit team win gold in a World Cup event in Cambridge in January. The Kiwi's time of 3m50.159s was at the time .355/100ths of a second from the then world record and New Zealand's fastest time.
It was a memorable night for the Gough family at the function which attracted a crowd of 560. Gough's cousin and fellow Olympic Games cyclist, Westley Gough, 31, received the Sportsperson of the Decade award for the 2000-09 decade.
A bronze medalist at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Westley, won the supreme award at the 2008 Hawke's Bay Sports awards. Another contender for the Sportsperson of the Decade, basketballer Paul Henare, was inducted into the Hawke's Bay Hall of Fame.