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.
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
editLong-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
editRising Star of the Year winners
edit| Year | Men | Women | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | [22] | ||
| 2008 | [22] | ||
| 2009 | [22] | ||
| 2010 | [22] | ||
| 2011 | [11] | ||
| 2012 | [22] | ||
| 2013 | [12] | ||
| 2014 | [13] | ||
| 2015 | [14] | ||
| 2016 | [15] | ||
| 2017 | [16] | ||
| 2018 | [17] | ||
| 2019 | [18] | ||
| 2020 | not awarded[note 1] | ||
| 2021 | [19] | ||
| 2022 | [23] | ||
| 2023 | [21] | ||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ European Athletics Rising Star Awards nominations for 2009. European Athletics (2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
- ^ Idowu and Domínguez win European Athlete of the Year Awards. IAAF (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
- ^ 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.
- ^ MONDO becomes presenting partner for European Athletics Awards Night [dead link]. European Athletics (1 September 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
- ^ Update EAA – Newsletter of the European Athletics Association. European Athletics (October 2002). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
- ^ "From Arron to Zelezny | The A-Z of the Golden Tracks". European Athletics. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Farah voted 2012 European Athlete of the Year", World Athletics, 5 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Ennis voted 2012 European Athlete of the Year", World Athletics, 4 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Idowu named top European athlete", BBC News, 2 October 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ a b "World Championships star Mo Farah named European athlete of the year", The Guardian, 5 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Bondarenko, Hejnová, Bekrić, Hinriksdottir crowned at European Athletics Awards Night", European Athletic Association, 12 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Lavillenie, Schippers, Gemili, Kuchina crowned at Golden Tracks ceremony", European Athletic Association, 11 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Golden Tracks glory for Rutherford and Schippers", European Athletic Association, 17 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Golden Tracks winners revealed", European Athletic Association, 15 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Vetter and Stefanidi crowned European Athletes of the Year", World Athletics, 15 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Mayer and Asher-Smith crowned European Athletes of the Year in Lausanne", European Athletic Association, 26 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Warholm and Lasitskene crowned 2019 European Athletes of the Year", European Athletic Association, 26 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Hassan and Warholm crowned 2021 European Athletes of the Year", European Athletic Association, 16 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Bol, Duplantis, Ingebrigtsen crowned 2022 European Athletes of the Year", European Athletic Association, 22 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Bol and Ingebrigtsen crowned 2023 European Athletes of the Year in Vilnius", European Athletics, 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "From Ennis-Hill to Warholm: a look back at past Rising Stars winners", European Athletic Association, 24 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "In focus | A closer look at Rising Stars Tzengko and Alekna", European Athletic Association, 25 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2023.