March saw plenty of gold and silver medals won by European athletes at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland.
The 14th European Cup Winter Throwing and the first two European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meetings of the year were also staged this month, and athletes who impressed at all these events are represented among this month’s nominees for the European Athlete of the Month.
Consequently, European Athletics is pleased to announce that athletes from 15 different countries have been nominated for the March award.
At the end of each month, a panel of experts produces a short list of the outstanding athletes and performances achieved by European athletes during that month, which is then mailed to the European athletics media and thousands of fans who have signed up to receive news from European Athletics.
The European Athlete of the Month fan voting takes place through our Facebook page, while members of the media can cast their vote on our website.
Fans are also able to vote through the European Athletics mobile applications on iPhone and Android phones.
The public, media and a group of expert statisticians cast their votes for the European Athlete of the Month with each category counting as 33.3 per cent of the vote.
For example, the winner of each poll will be awarded 10 points, second 9 points, etc. and the athlete with the most points after the three different polls have been counted will be declared the winner.
In the unlikely event of a tie, Hansjörg Wirz, the president of European Athletics, will have the casting vote.
The voting will close on 12 April at noon CET.
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.
MEN
Adam Kszczot POL (800m): the two-time European Athletics Indoor Championships 800m gold medallist took the silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships to confirm he is the current favourite for gold at this summer’s European Athletics Championships.
Andrei Krauchanka BLR (heptathlon): the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships heptathlon winner set a national record of 6303 points, the best European performance of the winter, when taking the silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.
David Storl GER (shot put): the two-time World Championships winner had to settle for his second successive silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships but his 21.79m effort was the third best of his career and the best by a European this winter.
Ivan Ukhov RUS (high jump): the London 2012 Olympic Games champion’s 2014 winning streak came to an end at the IAAF World Indoor Championships but he still battled for a valiant silver medal with a clearance at 2.38m, only losing the gold on count-back.
Lyukman Adams RUS (triple jump): the former European junior champion produced a world-leading effort of 17.37m with his last effort and the penultimate jump of the IAAF World Indoor Championships competition to snatch victory from his Cuban rivals.
Maksym Bohdan UKR (javelin): just 20, he won the under 23 event at the European Cup Winter Throwing in the Portuguese town of Leiria with a world-leading throw of 83.41m, which is also a national U23 record.
Matej Toth SVK (walking): won the 20km event on home soil at the Dudinska patdesiatka in the south of Slovakia, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, in a personal best of 1:19:48, the fifth consecutive year he has triumphed at his local meeting.
Pascal Martinot Lagarde FRA (60m hurdles): the young Frenchman moved up a place from his bronze medal at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships when finishing second at this year’s edition in 7.46, just a tantalising 0.01 behind the American winner.
Pawel Fajdek POL (hammer): in a rematch of their thrilling duel at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, the Moscow 2013 winner beat Hungary’s London 2012 Olympic Games champion Krisztian Pars at the European Cup Winter Throwing with a distance of 78.75m.
Pavel Maslak CZE (400m): the reigning European champion, both outdoors and indoors added a global title to his ever-growing list of accolades at the IAAF World Indoor Championships when winning in 45.24, the second fastest European indoor time ever.
Rafal Augustyn POL (walking): won the 50km event at the 33rd edition of the Dudinska patdesiatka in the south of Slovakia, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, by almost two minutes in a personal best and 2014 world-leading time of 3:45.32.
Richard Kilty GBR (60m): the British sprinter caused a huge surprise when he sped to an IAAF World Indoor Championships gold medal in 6.49, after only qualifying for Sopot after his better-known compatriot James Dasaolu could not compete due to injury.
WOMEN
Abeba Aregawi SWE (1500m): the 2013 IAAF World Championships gold medallist added another title to her collection at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, accelerating away from the rest of the field on the third lap to win by more than six seconds in 4:00.61.
Angelika Cichocka POL (800m): set an indoor personal best of 2:00.37 when winning her heat on home territory at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and then, spurred on by family and friends, came through to take an unexpected silver medal in the final in 2:00.45.
Christina Schwanitz GER (shot put): the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medallist continues to be continent’s best putter and won the silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships with an effort of 19.94m, just 11cm down on her indoor best.
Eleonora Giorgi ITA (walking): finished second over 20km at the Lugano Trophy – 12th Memorial Mario Albisetti 2014, a European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting, taking more than two minutes off her personal best in a European-leading time of 1:27:29.
‰loyse Lesueur FRA (long jump): the 2012 European Athletics Championships gold medallist came out on top of an exciting contest at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, just holding off British talent Katarina Johnson-Thompson, to win with 6.85m.
Jessica Augusto POR (10,000m): the 2010 European Cross Country Championships winner took the Iberia Trophy race in Lisbon in a world-leading 31:57.02, which will make her among the medal favourites for the European Athletics Championships this summer.
Kamila Licwinko POL (high jump): another local athlete who literally rose to the occasion at the IAAF World Indoor Championships when she equalled her own national indoor record with a first time clearance at 2.00m to take a share of the gold medal in Sopot.
Liina Laasma EST (javelin): the 2011 European junior champion won the under 23 event at the European Cup Winter Throwing in the Portuguese town of Leiria with a European-leading distance of 63.17m, which was also a national U23 record.
Mariya Konovalova RUS (marathon): now 39, she won the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Japan in a European-leading time of 2:23.43, the second best time of her career and her first victory over the classic distance after leaving her rivals behind with 5km to go.
Mariya Kuchina RUS (high jump): the 2011 European junior champion justified her role as the marginal favourite for the IAAF World Indoor Championships title by getting a share of the gold medal with her first time clearance at 2.00m.
Nadine Broersen NED (pentathlon): won at the IAAF World Indoor Championships after putting together a national record and 2014 world-leading mark of 4830 points; she had four personal bests in the five events including a national indoor record of 1.93m.
Sandra Perkovic CRO (discus): the reigning world and Olympic champion threw a massive 70.51m at the Croatian winter throwing championships in Split, the first throw over the magical 70-metre line since 1999 and the best mark in the world for 22 years.