European Athletics is pleased to announce that Portugal’s Sara Moreira and Ukraine’s Serhiy Lebid have been voted by the fans and media as European Athletes of the Month for November.
Lebid, the nine-time European cross country champion, who is now 39, finished fourth at the Joongang Seoul International Marathon on 9 November, running a personal best of 2:08:32, which is the second best time by a European runner this year.
Belgium’s Pieter-Jan Hannes was second in the vote, the 2013 European U23 1500m and cross country champion excelled to win the senior 9.4km race in cold and foggy conditions at the Lotto Crosscup van West-Vlaanderen meeting in Roeselare, Belgium, on 30 November.
Third was former 2009 European junior 3000m steeplechase champion Antonio Abadia of Spain, who was the leading European runner at the Cross de Atapuerca on 16 November and also at the Cross Internacional de la Constitución in Alcobendas on 30 November.
On the women’s side, the award went to Moreira, the 3000m indoor gold medallist from Gothenburg 2013, made an excellent debut over the classic distance when she finished third at the New York City Marathon on 3 November in 2:26:00 on a cold and windy day; she also won at the famous Cross de Torres Vedras cross country meeting.
In second place was Great Britain’s Kate Avery, a student at Iona College in the USA, she won at the prestigious American collegiate (NCAA) cross country championships in Terre Haute on 22 November, hitting the front after the first kilometre and covering the 6km course in 19:32.
In third was Croatia’s Lisa Nemec as she improved her national record to 1:09:16 at the 28th Ivan Starek Half Marathon in Zagreb on 16 November, the fourth fastest time by a European woman over the distance this year and stunningly beating the best men as well.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.