Silver Fern Maia Wilson has been nominated for this year’s Māori Sports Awards. But the honour for the former Central Pulse star has hit at a time of family tragedy. Wilson’s father died unexpectedly last week from a brain tumour.
“'My dad was my dad, I was lucky I was daddy's little girl, so we had quite a special bond. Lucky enough, one of the last times I saw my dad was at the fast five tournament which was awesome and luckily we won so dad was in a really good mood,” she said.
Wilson has been nominated as Junior Maori Sports Woman of the Year.
But the 18-year-old says the honour belongs to her dad and many more.
“He was always out there supporting me so every time I accomplished something it wasn't just for me and my family but it was for our iwi our hapu our marae,” says Wilson.
Due to netball commitments, her mother Karena Wilson will represent her daughter at the awards in Auckland on Saturday night.