The Dutch Athlete of the Year ( nl, atleet van het jaar) is an annual award given to the most distinguished competitor in the

sport of athletics Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing sports, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by the

Royal Dutch Athletics Federation The Royal Dutch Athletics Federation (Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Atletiek Unie'' or ''Atletiekunie'') is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Netherlands. Affiliations * World Athletics (WA) * European Athletic Associatio ...

(KNAU).Toegekende onderscheidingen
(in Dutch), ''

'', 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023. . A shortlist is drawn up by a group of federation officials and sports journalists and then goes to a vote to the public.Bol ook in Nederland verkozen tot Atleet van het Jaar
(in Dutch), ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...

'', 19 November 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2023. . The award is presented at the annual end-of-year gala of the federation.Tot Atleet van het Jaar uitgeroepen Hassan slaat WK indoor over
(in Dutch), '' NOS'', 12 December 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023. .Sifan Hassan voor derde keer op rij Nederlands atlete van het jaar
(in Dutch), ''

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

'', 15 December 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2023. . The award for 1935 was inaugurated in 1936 as the Sauer Cup ( nl, Sauer-beker). It was renamed to the KNAU Cup in 1947, as the eponymous Sauer had collaborated with the Nazis during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Aad Heere & Bart Kappenburg,
Hoofdstuk 25 Onderscheidingen
(in Dutch),
130 jaar atletiek in Nederland
' (in Dutch), 2000. . Retrieved 6 October 2023. .Robert Misset,
De sport als politiek propaganda-wapen
(in Dutch), ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'', 5 May 1990. Retrieved 8 October 2023. Initially a mixed-gender award, the best Dutch male and female athletes were recognised separately from 1959 onwards. The men's award was called the Herman van Leeuwen Cup during this period, while the women's award continued as the KNAU Cup. Since 2005, the awards have been known as the Dutch Athlete of the Year,Blom en Kiplagat atleten van het jaar
(in Dutch), '' NU.nl'', 7 January 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2023.Bram Som en Karin Ruckstuhl beste atleten
(in Dutch), ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

'', 8 January 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2023. and since 2018, it is again a mixed-gender award. Junior athletes also gained recognition separately through the mixed-gender Albert Spree Cup ( nl, Albert Spree-beker) that was first awarded in 1951. From 1959, male and female juniors were recognised separately; junior female athletes gained recognition through the

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...

Plaquette, while the award for junior male athletes continued as the Albert Spree Cup. These were replaced in 2006 by a mixed-gender junior award known as the Talent of the Year. Since 2018, this award has been merged with the Dutch Athlete of the Year award. In the years between 2011 and 2018, a separate award for para-athletes also existed.

List of winners

1935–1946

1947–1958

1959–2004

2005–present

Notes

References

{{Athletics awards 1936 establishments in the Netherlands Athletics in the Netherlands Awards established in 1936 Dutch sports trophies and awards Royal Dutch Athletics Federation Sport of athletics awards