The Athlete of the Year Awards are to Bermuda sports stars what kryptonite is to Superman.

Just as the Caped Crusador becomes immobilised when exposed to the deadly green radiation it seems the Island's top male and female athlete also have their once infallible powers neutered after receiving the prestigious honour.

Chronic loss of form, crisis of confidence and mysterious illnesses are just some of the symptoms to have struck down recent recipients.

None more so than former golden girl of local triathlon Flora Duffy who had experienced the exhilarating high of an unexpected eighth place at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne prior to her coronation as the Island's sports queen.

If lifting one award wasn't enough, poor Flora was exposed to a double dose of the strength-sapping annual accolade – winning back-to-back in 2007 and '08 and reduced the talented youngster to a shadow of her former self.

It took a while for the award's debilitating effects to take hold with Duffy starting the following season with a career-best finish in Lisbon, before falling foul to inconsistent and inexplicable form, forcing her to retire from a raft of races with fatigue problems.

Although her astonishing decline had shown no signs of abating she still managed to beat off a dearth of quality challengers to defend her award last year. But her misery continued and she suffered the indignation of being hauled out of a strong field at the Beijing Olympics.

Cyclist Tyler Butterfield broke away from the rest of the pack to overcome challenges from cricketer Irving Romaine and golfer Michael Sims to win the male athlete award two years ago.

Butterfield had placed respectably at the Commonwealth Games, wore the coveted leader's jersey after the first stage of the Tour of Guadeloupe, finished strongly at the 2006 Caribbean Cycling Championships and signed a professional contract with SlipStream Sports.

But like Duffy he too then endured a season from hell, unwittingly battling through his debut campaign on the pro-circuit with an undetected stomach virus which sapped his energy, rocked his confidence and had team-mates doubting his ability.

When he finally zapped the bug after taking himself in for a diagnosis following team doctors' failure to spot the problem he then suffered a broken collarbone just weeks later and eventually lost his seat with SlipStream. Bad luck or a surefire sign of the curse of the annual sports awards?

While no one would ever suggest Dwayne Leverock is "faster than a speeding bullet", the slow left-arm bowler has proven far more immune to the ailments endured by Duffy or Butterfield since being bestowed with the male athlete award 12 months ago.

At the time Khano Smith could have been forgiven for feeling more than a little peeved at missing out after helping his former club New England Revolution to the MLS Cup final. In hindsight, though, it seems like the lanky long-strider's snub was in fact a lucky escape.

Even Bermuda cricket's very own larger-than-life super hero has shown signs his mastery could be on the wane, with Leverock believed to be the chief beneficiary of Delyone Borden's mid-match walk-out, only just sneaking into this week's World Cup qualifying squad.

There appears to be another lack of standout candidates at this year's ceremony with Olympians Keira Aitken and equestrian Jill Terceira expected to be in the reckoning in the female category, while long jumper Tyrone Smith, footballer John Barry Nusum and swashbuckling batsman Chris Douglas could battle it for the best male honours.

But don't be surprised if tomorrow's winners follow Borden's suit and walk out of City Hall before accepting their gongs, muttering 'thanks Minister Blakeney, but no thanks'.