CRICKETING hero Janeiro Tucker and world-class long jumper Arantxa King were crowned Male and Female Athletes of the Year last night at a gala presentation at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Tucker was praised for his heroics at last summer's ICC Trophy tournament in Ireland where Bermuda qualified for the 2007 Cricket World Cup to be staged in the West Indies.

He amassed a total of 439 runs in 12 innings for an average of 39 runs per inning with a high score of 132.

And in bowling Tucker, who stood in as captain for an often injured Clay Smith, captured nine wickets for 422 runs.

The cricketer was also praised for his play during domestic competition.

King turned into a world beater last year when she became Bermuda's first ever world youth champion after capturing the gold medal at the IAAF World Youth Games with a leap of 6.39 metres shattering her previous personal best. King beat out athletes from 180 nations at the Games which were held in Marrakech, Morocco in July. Her previous personal best was set at the Carifta Games last spring in Tobago where she won the gold with a leap of 5.98 metres.

King didn't stop there though ? she again captured gold at the Junior Pan Am Games in July in Windsor, Canada. The Boston-based teenager leaped 6.21 metres to win the event.

Strangely enough both Tucker and King were given Achievement Awards as well last night which seemed a little redundant given that they had walked away with the biggest prize of them all.

A Special Achievement Award went to Patricia Petty for her long and dedicated service to the sport of triathlon. Petty was a founding member of the Bermuda Triathlon Association and later next month she will be a technical official at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Petty also travelled as team manager to the 2002 Commonwealth Games in England as well as the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

A Special Achievement Award went to Denise Kyme for her services to the sport of squash over the past 30 years. Kyme is one of those responsible for the surge in popularity of the sport among many of the youth in Bermuda and was one of the best women players on the island.

The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club received an Appreciation Award for services to the sport of sailing ? particularly the programmes for junior sailors.

Two other members of Bermuda's national cricket team also were recognised last night ? Lionel Cann and skipper Clay Smith were both given Achievement Awards. Cann made a superb contribution to Bermuda last summer in Ireland with his batting while Smith was cited for his leadership in the Americas Cup particularly his 138 not out against the Cayman Islands.

Bermuda sole female professional boxer, Teresa Perozzi was given an Achievement Award for becoming the first athlete to win a world boxing title when she fought in Trinidad last year against Scroller Carrington to claim the WIBA middleweight belt.

Track and field star Latroya Darrell also won an Achievement Award. Darrell competes in both the triple jump and high jump and in the Carifta Games last year she won a silver medal in the triple jump setting a new Bermuda record and she also won the another silver in high jump.

She is also one of the top 23 performers in the world at the youth level in high jump.

Show jumping equestrian Jill Terceira was given an Achievement Award for her performances in Europe where she lives.

The Holland-based rider competed in more than 60 international level competitions last year all over Europe.

Sports Citations were given to former star javelin athlete Sonya Smith, AON Group of Companies for supporting show jumping, Cable & Wireless for supporting sailing, former cricketer Edward (Bosun) Smith and international umpire Roger Dill.