Ksenija Balta and Rasmus Mägi have been rewarded for their fine seasons by being named as Estonia’s Athletes of the Year.
First in 2016, long jumper Balta, 30, was seventh at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland in March and then in July narrowly missed out on making the podium at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam.
Balta’s best of 6.65m took the lead in the first round and she was eventually fourth, beaten only on countback by Germany’s Malaika Mihambo.
Then, just over a month later, Balta stretched her season’s best from that 6.65m to 6.79m to finish sixth at the Olympic Games in Rio, a mark which put her 10th on the European Athletics rankings.
The 2009 European indoor champion in Turin, Balta’s experience and talent will put her among the favourites for a medal in the event again in Belgrade in March.
[PHOTO src='1280578' size='mediumLandscape' align='right']
She received her trophy from Allar Levandi, who won Winter Olympic bronze in the 15km Nordic Combined in Calgary in 1988.
Mägi, 24, ran the race of his life at the Olympics to finish sixth in the 400m hurdles final in 48.40, a brilliant national record.
It was the third best performance by a European in 2016 from an athlete who remains so consistent.
In 2013, Mägi won bronze at the European Athletics U23 Championship in Tampere and a year later, he was the European silver medallist in Zurich. He was handed his prize by Estonian tennis star Kaia Kanepi.
[PHOTO src='1280580' size='mediumLandscape' align='right']