European Athlete of the Year and Rising Star Awards nominations for 2012
The online poll to choose the winners is now open, with voting taking place on the European Athletics website until 26 September 2012.
The lists for both the European Athlete of the Year and Rising Star categories were compiled by selecting the top European athlete in different athletics disciplines based on performances at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships, Istanbul 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, other European Athletics and IAAF events and the series of Diamond League and European Athletics meetings.
For the European Athlete of the Year nominations, only winners at either the London 2012 Olympic Games or the Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships have been selected.
Only in very exceptional cases are two athletes from one event nominated. Race walker Yelena Lashmanova of Russia has been nominated in both the Athlete of the Year and Rising Star categories because of her phenomenal achievements in what has been a breakthrough year for the youngster.
The award winners will be decided by votes from the general public, media, European Athletics Member Federations and an expert panel, with the results from each group of voters counting for one quarter of the athlete's final score. Each voter must select their five preferred athletes and rank them in order of priority.
Members of the public who have voted for the top three male and female athletes in the correct order in the poll will be entered into a draw to win a two-night trip for two to the Göteborg 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships. There will also be some runners-up prizes.
Speaking about the award, European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, "The year 2012 showed that athletics remains the biggest and most popular sport in the Olympic programme. It was another exciting year for the sport in Europe, with the Helsinki 2012 European Athletics Championships, the first of the two-year cycle for the championships, proving to be a successful event and an excellent precursor to a memorableOlympics.
"In a year of excellent performances, to be nominated for the best athlete in Europe is a huge honour and one that is greatly valued by the athletes. However, I must stress that European Athletics has always held a very strong line against doping and any athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban has been omitted from the list of nominations."
The 2012 European Athletes of the Year and European Athletics Rising Stars will be invited to collect their awards during the European Athletics Convention in St Julians, Malta, on Saturday 13 October.
The European Athlete of the Year award was introduced by European Athletics in 1993 and this year is the 20th time the trophy will be awarded.
European Athlete of the Year previous winners (1993-2011):
| Women |
Men |
| 1993 Sally Gunnell GBR | 1993 Linford Christie GBR |
| 1994 Irina Privalova RUS | 1994 Colin Jackson GBR |
| 1995 Sonia O’Sullivan IRL | 1995 Jonathan Edwards GBR |
| 1996 Svetlana Masterkova RUS | 1996 Jan Zelezny CZE |
| 1997 Astrid Kumbernuss GER | 1997 Wilson Kipketer DEN |
| 1998 Christine Arron FRA | 1998 Jonathan Edwards GBR |
| 1999 Gabriela Szabo ROU | 1999 Tomás Dvorak CZE |
| 2000 Trine Hattestad NOR | 2000 Jan Zelezny CZE |
| 2001 Stephanie Graf AUT | 2001 André Bucher SUI |
| 2002 Süreyya Ayhan TUR | 2002 Dwain Chambers GBR |
| 2003 Carolina Klüft SWE | 2003 Christian Olsson SWE |
| 2004 Kelly Holmes GBR | 2004 Christian Olsson SWE |
| 2005 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS | 2005 Virgilijus Alekna LTU |
| 2006 Carolina Klüft SWE | 2006 Francis Obikwelu POR |
| 2007 Blanka Vlasic CRO | 2007 Tero Pitkämäki FIN |
| 2008 Yelena Isinbayeva RUS | 2008 Andreas Thorkildsen NOR |
| 2009 Marta Dominguez ESP | 2009 Phillips Idowu GBR |
| 2010 Blanka Vlasic CRO |
2010 Christophe Lemaitre FRA |
| 2011 Mariya Savinova RUS |
2011 Mo Farah GBR |
European Athletics Rising Star previous winners (2007-2011):
| Women | Men |
| 2007 Jessica Ennis GBR | 2007 Andrew Howe ITA |
| 2008 Stephanie Twell GBR | 2008 Raphael Holzdeppe GER |
| 2009 Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal NOR | 2009 Christophe Lemaitre FRA |
| 2010 Sandra Perković CRO |
2010 Teddy Tamgho FRA |
| 2011 Jodie Williams GBR |
2011 David Storl GER |
