The event was organised by the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) with Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama chief guest at the event.

Guest speaker Osea Kolinisau was awarded the Sportsman of the Year after the wing/full-back captained Fiji's men to their historic Olympic gold medal.

Merewalesi Roden, who lost her first round table tennis match at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games to South Korea's Jung Young-a, was handed the Sportswoman of the Year prize.

Ben Ryan won the Coach of the Year award, despite being embroiled in a war of words with Fiji Rugby Union over a "lack of contracts" given to players before this season’s World Rugby Sevens Series started.

Ryan stepped down as Fiji’s head coach and has now joined the Welsh Rugby Union in a consultancy role.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Fiji rugby seven squad collected the Team of the Year prize as a reward for their efforts at Rio 2016.

Nacani Cawanibuka claimed Technical Official of the Year for his work as the men's rugby sevens team's strength and conditioning coach.

Weightlifting’s Sitiveni Timi scooped the Young Male Athlete of the Year after he finished fourth in the Oceania Weightlifting Federation's 2016 rankings in the youth 50 kilograms category.

Sally Yee was named Young Female of the Year. 

Yee was knocked out of the women's Rio 2016 table tennis tournament in the preliminary round.

"Every Fijian remembers the thrill of competing in this past Olympic Games, and the joy of watching rugby sevens heroes win gold medal on rugby's biggest stage," Bainimarama said during the ceremony.

"Vinaka vakalevu to our boys, coach Ben Ryan and his staff for that spectacular showing.

"Truly, our sportsmen and women are a pivotal part of telling Fiji's story to the world.

"The story of a small island country that is the hub of development in the Pacific.

"Every time our athletes win big, every time Fiji hosts a major sporting event or we share our sporting knowledge, more people learn about Fiji and the Fijian people."