Rugby
Habana is SA's sweetheart
2009-12-07 09:34
Email | Print
Cape Town - Bryan Habana is South Africa’s favourite sports star, beating the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Teko Modise, Graeme Smith and Morne Steyn to the number one spot in 2009.
South Africans voted the Springbok wing their most popular sports star in the 21st BMI Adult Sporttrack Report, the only totally representative study conducted among adult South Africans and containing analyses across over 40 sports codes.
“The 2009 BMI Adult Sporttrack Report was compiled from a nationally representative sample of over 2000 interviews, and it’s recognized as the major source for information in this industry,” said Johan Grobler, Director of BMI.
While Habana enjoyed the majority support, 2009 PSL Footballer of the Year Modise gave him a strong run for first place.
The Orlando Pirates star, who was recently appointed as McDonald’s ambassador for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, jumped from fifth spot in 2008 to second this year.
Proteas captain Smith moved up the rankings from 13th to seventh, but former number one Ntini is still the country’s most admired cricketer, slotting in at number five.
The country’s number one golfer, Ernie Els, dropped off the list last year, but made a remarkable comeback despite a winless season. The Big Easy took up the number 11 slot to leapfrog Springbok kicking machine Steyn.
Steyn cracked the top 20 for the first time, coming in at number 16.
Overall, the top 20 includes nine football players, four cricketers, two swimmers and one golfer and athlete each.
Flash content loading, please wait..