European high jump bronze medallist Angelina Topic from Serbia has been named winner of the 2022 Piotr Nurowski Best Summer European Young Athlete Prize at the annual award ceremony which was held at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece.
The award was voted on by European National Olympic Committees and Topic received 33 percent of the vote, edging out British diver Andrea Spendolini Sirieix who received 31 percent of the vote.
Topic won the European U18 high jump gold medal in Jerusalem in July before making a seamless adjustment to senior competition by winning bronze at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships. At 17, Topic was the youngest medallist of the entire championships.
Topic also matched the long-standing world U18 best with a 1.96m clearance at the Serbian Championships and the teenager harbours aspirations of not only winning major senior titles but rewriting the record books as she progresses through the age-group ranks.
"I would like to make history in high jump and become one of the greatest ever. My dream is to set world records in each age category and to finalise it by winning a gold medal at the Olympics," said Topic whose goals in the shorter term could include next year's European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul and the European Athletics U20 Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
When asked what it meant to her to win the award, Topic said: “Both my parents are Olympians, so I had no choice but to be raised with the Olympic values at home from a young age. Winning this award is a dream come true. It has given me extra motivation to train hard and inspire other young athletes to achieve their dreams."
Topic, whose father Dragutin won European high jump gold in 1990 and mother Biljana won triple jump bronze at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, follows in the footsteps of fellow high jumper and reigning European champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh who won this award in 2019 and Greek pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis, the winner in 2016.
The EOC Piotr Nurowski Prize for the Best European Young Athlete was created in 2011 to remember Piotr Nurowski, the President of the Polish Olympic Committee who died tragically in a plane crash a year earlier.
The annual prize is awarded to up-and-coming young athletes, who in recent months have showcased not only outstanding sporting achievements but also exceptional conduct on and off the field of play.
In addition to the Piotr Nurowski Prize trophy, Topic will take home a training scholarship worth 15,000 euros.