Cricketer Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock and triathlete Flora Duffy have been crowned the King and Queen of Bermudian sport - Duffy for the second year running.

The pair were named as the Island’s top two athletes at a glittering Annual Sports Awards ceremony at the Southampton Fairmont Hotel last night.

Leverock, the Male Athlete of the Year, beat Khano Smith, the New England Revolution footballer, and Patrick Nesbitt, the equestrian, to the top prize. Smith and Nesbitt were presented with Achievement Awards for their success over the past year.

Known worldwide as Bermuda’s most recognised cricketer, the larger-than-life Leverock introduced himself to the international cricket scene during last year’s Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

He shot to prominence when he took the wickets of Keven Pietersen and Paul Collingwood in a warm-up match against England, but is probably best known for his spectacular diving catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa, the India batsman. Away from the World Cup, he took five wickets for just 68 runs in two One-Day Internationals against Kenya.

Locally, he produced with both bat and ball, scoring a century against former club Western Stars, while showing his spinning wizardry taking five for 39 in the BELCO finals to guide Southampton Rangers to their second successive BELCO Cup.

“It is great to collect this award”, said Leverock. “All the hard work paid off and it shows the youngsters that hard work really pays off.

“We still have a long road ahead of us on the international forefront, so I will use the domestice league to sharpen my skills and assist the youngsters coming in to get their game where it needs to be.”

His flamboyance and charisma has endeared him to his many fans, and he was described by the former England cricketer Derek Underwood as “a charismatic figure with an uncanny ability to dismiss the best batsmen in the world”.

Duffy beat out the likes of Teresa Perozzi, the boxer, Arantxa King, the long jumper, and Jill Terceira, the equestrian, to claim the Female Athlete of the Year award.

Despite having a miserable year by her own high standards, she is ranked 52nd in the world, and over the last year has helped her French professional team to the National Championships. Individually she has also put in some strong performances, finishing first in the CAC Championship in the Dominican Republic, fifth in the BG Triathlon World Cup in Lisbon as well as seventh in the GP Sprint Race in France.

The teenager was unable to pick up her award personally, because she is training in Italy ahead of a competition in Mexico in April, however Maria Duffy, her mother, said her daughter would be “thrilled”.

“It [the award], is completely unexpected,” she added.

There were also be a number of other awards up for grabs including the Special Achievement Awards, Bermuda Sport Citation Awards and Appreciation Awards as well as a Minister’s Awards and Special Recognition Awards.

Special Achievement Awards went to to Sydney (Shots) Carlington, the head groundsman at the St David’s Oval, for his dedication in pitch preparation; Steve Petty, the founder of the Bermuda Triathlon Association, for his tireless work and continuing contribution to the sport; and Stephen West, an administrator and official of local cricket.

Achievement Awards went to Rodney Trott, the Under-19 cricket captain, who led this side to the Under-19 World Cup; Kiera Aitken, who has excelled internationally in swimming; and boxer Perozzi, who defeated Yvonne Reiss on home soil and is ranked number five in the women’s Middleweight division.

Trott and Reuna Richardson, the female cricketer, were also awarded The Minister’s Award for Cricket, while the football award went to Kwame Steede and Tschana Wade.

Neil de St. Croix was awarded with the Special Recognition Award for his role in triathlon in Bermuda along with the Bermuda Under-19 cricket team, who where acknowledged for their achievements throughout last year.

Other recipients were Ralph Bean sr, Alfred D. Eve jr, Alvin L. Dill jr., Somerset Bluebirds softball team and Allan Jay Tucker, who all received Sports Citations.

The awards show was broadcast live on ZBM.