Ball and Duplantis crowned European AoY
BATUM (GEO). Femke Ball and Armand Duplantis were once again recognized as the best European athletes of the year at the Golden Tracks awards ceremony in Batum, Georgia on Saturday. It was the third time that Ball and Duplantis have been named European Athletes of the Year, a feat only previously achieved by Great Britain’s Mo Farah.
Both winners are previous winners of the Rising Star Award, winning the trophy in 2021 and 2018 respectively. This year’s Rising Star winners were Audrey Verreau and Hubert Troschianka. “I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all the award winners and nominees at the Golden Tracks Awards tonight in Batumi. It was great to reflect on another fantastic year in athletics and celebrate their wonderful achievements on and off the field,” said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.
President Karamarinov also awarded a special award for lifetime achievements to Robert Emmian from Armenia, whose European long jump record of 8.86 meters has been preserved since 1987. The first prizes of the annual European Athletics Coaching Awards were presented on stage in Batumi to Georgian coaches Marina Kotrikadze and Sigmund Zilber. The first referees of the year were also awarded: Sweden’s Anna Palmerus and Netherlands’ Niels van der Aar. The 2026 Golden Tracks will be held in Lausanne. Through European Athletics.
