The finalists for the European Sportsman and Rising Star of the Year have been announced following a four-part vote that has reduced the initial shortlist to 10 athletes.
Keeley Hodgkinson has been named as a finalist for the European Athletics Sportswoman of the Year award, marking a standout season for the 22-year-old.
His crowning achievement came in Paris, where he produced a dominant performance to secure the Olympic gold medal in the 800m, clocking 1:56.72, while in complete control at the Stade de France.
However, his success was not limited to the Olympics. In Rome, he successfully defended his European title, winning in 1:58.65 despite battling illness.
Adding to her remarkable season, Hodgkinson set a new British record with a blistering 1:54.62 at the London Diamond League, finishing ahead of Gemma Ricci and Georgia Bell. Her time is the fastest by a European since Yarmila Kratochvilova set the world record of 1:53.28 in 1983.
Keeley Hodgkinson (Dan Vernon)
Hodgkinson is nominated alongside two other gold medalists from Paris, Femke Ball and Jaroslava Mahuchych.
Ball is aiming for his third consecutive European Sportsman of the Year, having won in both 2022 and 2023.
This year, she set the indoor world record in the 400m with a time of 49.17, while also anchoring the Dutch team to victory in the 4x400m relay.
Ball’s achievements continued with gold in both the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay at the European Championships, as well as a new European record of 50.95 in the 400m hurdles. At the Paris Olympics, she won her first Olympic gold in the 4x400m medley, bronze in the 400m parallel hurdles and silver in the women’s 4x400m relay.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchych made history by breaking Stefka Kostadinova’s long-standing world record of 2.09m by clearing 2.10m at the Paris Diamond League.
Yaroslava Mahuchich (River)
The 23-year-old went on to win gold at both the European Championships and the Paris Olympics.
The finalists for the European Men’s Sportsman of the Year award are Mondo Duplantis, Jacob Ingebrigtsen and Miltiadis Tentoglu, who all won gold medals at the World Indoor Championships, the European Championships and the Paris Olympics.
Duplantis continued to push the boundaries of the pole vault, setting a new world record of 6.24m at the Xiamen Diamond League. He went on to break his own record twice more, with an astonishing 6.25m springboard in Paris and later 6.26m in the Silesian Diamond League.
Mondo Duplantis (Getty)
Meanwhile, Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured a double at the European Championships in the 1500m and 5000m, becoming the most successful male athlete in the history of the championships with six gold medals.
After narrowly missing out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 1500m in Paris, she bounced back to win gold in the 5000m. Later in the season, the Norwegian broke the 3000m world record in Silesia, clocking 7:17.55, beating Daniel Komen’s long-standing record by three seconds.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (River)
Miltiadis Tentoglu added to his growing list of long jump titles, bringing his total to 11 major championships. His season was highlighted by a world-leading jump of 8.65m at the European Championships, where he also set a new championship record en route to securing his third gold medal.
In the Women’s Rising Star category, Great Britain’s Phoebe Gill made it to the final after a superb season. At the Irish Milers Meet in Belfast, the 17-year-old capped her impressive 800m with a time of 17.86 minutes, nearly two seconds off the European under-18 record.
His victory at the British Championships in Manchester earned him a place in England’s Paris Olympic team. As the youngest member of the team, Gill reached the semi-finals of the 800m, a milestone in his early career.
Phoebe Gill (Getty)
Finalist Gill is joined by Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos, who secured her second consecutive European silver medal in the javelin at the age of 20. He set a new Serbian national record with a throw of 64.42m.
Croatian Jana Koščak completes the trio of women. Despite being ruled out of the 2023 European Under-20 Championships due to injury, he made a triumphant return to win the world under-20 heptathlon gold in Lima.
The finalists on the men’s side are Tomas Jarvinen of the Czech Republic, who claimed the U20 world decathlon title. His total of 8,425 points made him second on the all-time list for world under-20s.
Also in contention is Cyprus’ Iosif Kesidis, who made history in Lima by winning the hammer throw title with a personal best and national under-20 record of 82.80m. Her victory, which was over seven metres, marked Cyprus’ first ever gold medal in the event’s 38-year history.
Nils Laros (River)
Rounding out the final is Niels Laros from the Netherlands, who has been shortlisted for the third consecutive year. The 19-year-old finished sixth in the Olympic 1500m final in 3:29.54, beating Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s European Under-20 record of 3:30.16.
With awards season in full swing, AW will be hosting our very own awards, giving readers the chance to vote for your favorite athletes for the 2024 season.
The official shortlists will be published in our November issue, available on 31 October.
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