The European Athlete of the Year award is an annual prize for sportspeople from Europe participating in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, including

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

, and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

competitions. The election has been organised by the

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(EAA), the European governing body for the sport of athletics, since 1993. Each year, a

shortlist A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

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. 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. 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. Both awards are presented during the annual Golden Tracks gala of the EEA.

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the ...

sponsored the event from 2002–2008 and Mondo, a manufacturer of

equipment and facilities, sponsored the 2009 presentation.

Winner statistics

Long-distance runner

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

of Great Britain is the only athlete, male or female, to win the main award three times. Czech javelin legend

Jan Železný Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of . Widely considered to be the greatest javelin throwe ...

, British triple jumper Jonathan Edwards with his Swedish rival Christian Olsson, Norwegian hurdler

Karsten Warholm Karsten Warholm (; born 28 February 1996) is a Norwegian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres and 400 m hurdles. He’s the world record holder in the latter event. In July 2021, he broke the 29-year-old world record in 400 metres hurdles. ...

, and Norwegian middle/long-distance runner

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Ingebrigtsen (born 19 September 2000) is a Norwegian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympic ...

have won the men's award twice, while Sweden's heptathlete

Carolina Klüft Carolina Evelyn Klüft (; born 2 February 1983) is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon, triple jump, long jump, and pentathlon. She was an Olympic Champion, having won the heptathlon title in 2004. She was al ...

, Russian pole vaulter

Yelena Isinbayeva Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva ( rus, Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева, p=jɪˈlʲɛnə gɐˈdʐɨjɪvnə ɪsʲɪnˈbajɪvə; born 3 June 1982) is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004 and 20 ...

, Croatian high jumper

Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašić (; born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump. She is a two-time world champion and double Olympic medallist who ranks as the joint second highest female jumper of all tim ...

, 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 Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (born 28 January 1986) is a British retired track and field athlete from England, specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, ...

. 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.

Athlete of the Year winners

Rising Star of the Year winners

Notes

References

{{Athletics awards 1993 establishments in Europe Athletics in Europe Awards established in 1993

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

Athlete Most valuable player awards Sport of athletics awards

Winner statistics

Athlete of the Year winners

Rising Star of the Year winners

See also

Notes

References