One tasted Olympic Games golden glory and the other suffered agonising medal heartbreak, but Kim Brennan and Patrick Mills have been recognised for their outstanding years with ACT sport awards.
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Brennan and Mills were named the female and male athletes of the year at a revamped awards ceremony at the National Arboretum on Friday night.
There were fears a generation of Canberra athletes would go unrecognised for their performances when ACT Sport ceased to exist last year.
But the ACT government has formed a nominations process to ensure the awards will live strong into the future and pay tribute to Canberra athletes dominating international sport.
The night doubled as an induction ceremony for the ACT sport hall of fame, with Australia rugby legend Stephen Larkham and former Hockeyroo Nicole Arrold joining the list of superstars.
The Canberra Raiders won team of the year for their best NRL season in 20 years and igniting lime green passion in the capital, while Paralympic cyclist Sue Powell was named para athlete of the year after claiming silver and bronze medals in Rio.
Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker capped off a superb year by winning the inaugural people's sporting champion prize, voted on by the public, and Tennis ACT won the minister for sport's award for event excellence.
Canberra lawyer Brennan was the darling of Australia's Olympic campaign, claiming the single sculls gold medal.
It was Australia's first Olympic rowing gold medal since Brennan's husband Scott won gold in the double sculls in Beijing in 2008.
Brennan carried the Australian flag into the closing ceremony and the 31-year-old has returned to training on Lake Burley Griffin.
While Brennan was riding high, Mills was dealing with the heartbreak of missing out on a historic medal for the Australian men's basketball team.
The speedy NBA point guard led the Boomers to the cusp of a bronze medal before he was pinged for a controversial foul in the dying seconds of an 89-88 loss to Spain.
Former Marist College student Mills is enjoying the best season of his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 11.2 points per game.
But his ACT sport award was as much for his work off the court after leading the Boomers on an emotional trip to Uluru before the Olympics.
Mills' presence in the NBA, where he is expected to figure as a contender for the "sixth man of the year award", has also led to a basketball boom in Canberra.
Basketball ACT has had to find more courts to cater for growing junior numbers and Mills has been a major reason for the increased popularity.
"The feedback coming back from Rio was that everyone was on board in Australia," Mills said.
"There was a change in following that we'd never had before, and coming back to hear how people were proud of us at the Olympics was really something.
"We didn't win a medal in Rio and that was devastating, but it makes it more exciting for years to come and the future Olympics.
"It's great to hear the sport is doing so well back home, I didn't know that the numbers were going so great.
"It's a good problem to have in terms of trying to cater for everyone and I hope that it just gets stronger and stronger."
Mills' contract with the Spurs expires at the end of the season and his impressive form is set to put him on the radar of a number of clubs when he tests the free agency market.
CANBERRA SPORTS AWARDS WINNERS
Hall of Fame full members: Stephen Larkham and Nicole Arrold
Hall of Fame associate members: Ray Brown and Russ Baker
Male athlete of the year: Patty Mills
Female athlete of the year: Kim Brennan
Para-sport athlete of the year: Sue Powell
Team of the year: Canberra Raiders
Outstanding service to sport: Steve Dodt
People's sporting champion: Jarrod Croker
Minister's award for inclusion: Woden Valley Gymnastics
Minister's award for innovation: Ginninderra Athletics Club
Minister's award for event excellence: Tennis ACT
