European Athletics is pleased to announce that French sprint sensation Christophe Lemaitre and Turkish hurdler Nevin Yanit have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for July.
Lemaitre became the first man in the history of the European Athletics Championships to complete the treble of 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold in Barcelona. Aged just 20 he lived up to expectations to answer every possible question asked of him – a truly remarkable feat for one so young.
The 24-year-old Yanit went into the history books as Turkey’s first sprint hurdles champion after clocking a national record 12.63 in Barcelona.
It was a great turnaround in fortunes for an athlete who had failed to even finish in her heat in Göteborg four years ago.
Christian Reif, who broke one of the longest standing championship records to bag gold for Germany in the best long jump competition ever seen at European championships, came in second in the men’s category while Norway’s all conquering javelin super star Andreas Thorkildsen finished third.
Briton Mo Farah, who completed a remarkable 5000m and 10000m double in Barcelona, finished a close fourth and deserves a special mention among the crème de la crème of European athletes competing in the month of July.
Latvia’s Ineta Radevica, who produced a major upset in the women’s long jump final in Barcelona in winning the gold medal with a massive career best leap of 6.92m, breaking her previous best of 6.90m set in 2005, finished second in the women’s poll. This was ahead of Lithuania’s Zivile Balciunaite, who won not only the most important race of the 26 marathons she has run but the European crown as well in a time of 2:31:14.
World and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis of Great Britain, who has already been voted European Athlete of the Month three times this year, finished a close fourth. European Athletics’ monthly poll received overwhelming support from tens of thousands of athletics fans and media alike this month from all over Europe, with Turkish fans and media in particular coming out in force to vote for their star athletes.
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.
European Athletics names a male and female winner each month and features the athlete on the European Athletics website.
Selections are based on votes by the public, media and a panel of European Athletics experts – each counting for 33.3% of the final vote. No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for or win the European Athlete of the Month award.
2010 previous winners:
| Month |
Male
|
Country |
Female |
Country |
| June |
Teddy Tamgho |
FRA |
Anita Wlodarczyk |
POL |
| May |
Andreas Thorkildsen |
NOR |
Jessica Ennis |
GBR |
| April |
Gerd Kanter |
EST |
Liliya Shobukhova |
RUS |
| March |
Teddy Tamgho
|
FRA |
Jessica Ennis |
GBR |
| February |
David Gillick |
IRL |
Elvan Abeylegesse |
TUR |
| January |
Ivan Ukhov
|
RUS |
Jessica Ennis
|
GBR |
|
