European_Athlete_of_the_Year_Trophy

European Athlete of the Year

European Athlete of the Year

Athletics award in Europe


The European Athlete of the Year award is an annual prize for sportspeople from Europe participating in athletics, including track and field, road running, and cross country running competitions. The election has been organised by the European Athletic Association (EAA), the European governing body for the sport of athletics, since 1993.

Hurdler/sprinter Femke Bol was the women's Rising Star of the Year in 2021 and women's Athete of the Year in 2022 and 2023.
Middle/long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen was the men's Rising Star of the Year in 2018 and men's Athlete of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

Each year, a shortlist is created by selecting the top European athlete in each event, based upon performances at the year's major championships. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one athlete be shortlisted per event. Athletes who have served a doping ban of two years or more are ineligible.[1] Via the EAA website, fans, media, and members of the EAA federations are allowed to vote for five male and five female athletes on the list, with athletes receiving one to five points based on their ranking. A panel of experts also cast their votes. The votes of each of the four groups comprises 25% of the athletes' total scores, and the male and female athletes with the highest combined points totals win.[2][3]

In 2007, a separate European Athletics Rising Star of the Year award was established for athletes under 23 years of age as a way of acknowledging young competitors' achievements on their way to becoming senior athletes.[4]

Both awards are presented during the annual Golden Tracks gala of the EEA. Waterford Crystal sponsored the event from 2002–2008 and Mondo, a manufacturer of track and field equipment and facilities, sponsored the 2009 presentation.[5][6]

Winner statistics

Long-distance runner Mo Farah is the only athlete to win the main award three times, in 2011, 2012, and 2016.

Long-distance runner Mo Farah of Great Britain is the only athlete, male or female, to win the main award three times. Czech javelin legend Jan Železný, British triple jumper Jonathan Edwards with his Swedish rival Christian Olsson, Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm, and Norwegian middle/long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen have won the men's award twice, while Sweden's heptathlete Carolina Klüft, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlašić, Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers, and Dutch sprinter/hurdler Femke Bol have won the women's award twice each.

Warholm, Ingebrigtsen, and Bol have each completed the triple of the Rising Star award, followed by two senior awards. Two athletes have completed the double of the Rising Star trophy followed by the senior award: sprinter Christophe Lemaitre of France and Great Britain's heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Carolina Klüft and Christophe Lemaitre were the youngest European Athletes of the Year so far. They were only 20 when winning this accolade in 2003 and 2010 respectively.[7]

Athlete of the Year winners

More information Year, Men ...

Rising Star of the Year winners

See also

Notes

  1. Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

  1. European Athlete of the Year Award nominations for 2009 Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (14 September 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  2. Idowu and Domínguez win European Athlete of the Year Awards. IAAF (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  3. Jessica Ennis wins European Athletics Rising Star Award Archived 13 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. UK Athletics (26 September 2007). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  4. "From Arron to Zelezny | The A-Z of the Golden Tracks". European Athletics. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. "Farah voted 2012 European Athlete of the Year", World Athletics, 5 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. "Ennis voted 2012 European Athlete of the Year", World Athletics, 4 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  7. "Idowu named top European athlete", BBC News, 2 October 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  8. "Golden Tracks winners revealed", European Athletic Association, 15 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2023.

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