European Athlete of the Year

Photo of Armand Duplantis wearing a yellow and blue athletics outfit and holding up the yellow and blue Swedish flag behind his back
Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis was the men's Rising Star of the Year in 2018 and men's Athlete of the Year in 2022 and 2024.
Photo of Yaroslava Mahuchikh in a blue athletics outfit holding up her right thumb
High jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh was the women's Rising Star of the Year in 2019 and women's Athlete of the Year in 2024.

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]

  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. ^ European Athletics Rising Star Awards nominations for 2009. European Athletics (2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  3. ^ Idowu and Domínguez win European Athlete of the Year Awards. IAAF (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ MONDO becomes presenting partner for European Athletics Awards Night [dead link]. European Athletics (1 September 2009). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.
  6. ^ Update EAA – Newsletter of the European Athletics Association. European Athletics (October 2002). Retrieved on 2 October 2009.