New Zealand’s most decorated Olympian of all time, Dame Lisa Carrington DNZM MNZM, will be inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame at an indigenous awards ceremony in Ngāruawāhia later this month (November).

Now in its 35th year, the Trillian Trust Māori Sports Awards will be hosted by Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust at Tūrangawaewae Marae on Saturday 29 November 2025.

As successor to her father, the late Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, the new Māori monarch, Te Arikinui Kuini Ngaa wai hono i te poo, will attend the event for the first time in her role as patron.

A two-hour live-to-air special – TE TOHU TAAKARO O AOTEAROA | Māori Sports Awards 2025 – will broadcast on Whakaata Māori as well as its online MĀORI+ platform and YouTube channel from 6.30pm to 8.30pm (repeats on Whakaata Māori on Sunday 30 November 2025 from 12 noon to 2pm).

The black-tie ceremony attracts more than 500 guests from the Māori community, sporting and corporate sector. Winners in 10 categories will be announced with all finalists and world champions in contention for the supreme award – the prestigious Albie Pryor Memorial Māori Sports Person of the Year, Rongomaraeroa.

Trust executive director Richard (Dick) Garratt MNZM (Ngāi Tuhoe) says Dame Lisa is widely considered to be the world’s best ever canoe sprint athlete, not just among women. Her unparalleled success includes nine Olympic medals – eight golds and one bronze across four consecutive Olympic Games – as well as 15 world championship golds.

“Dame Lisa’s induction into Te Whare Mātātapuna o te Ao Māori in recognition of her remarkable results at both the Halberg Awards and Māori Sports Awards is testament to her extraordinary talent and unwavering self-determination as well as the exceptional guidance of her coaches and the steadfast support of her humble whānau.”

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