Femke Bol, Armand Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are no strangers to winning awards at the Golden Tracks award ceremony.
Bol was crowned women's Rising Star in 2021 and Duplantis and Ingebrigtsen shared the award in 2018. It only took Bol one year to graduate to European Athlete of the Year while history repeated itself with Duplantis and Ingebrigtsen sharing the men's award.
We take a closer look at these three phenomenal athletes and their incredible seasons which brought them European Athlete of the Year honours at the Golden Tracks award ceremony in Tallinn, Estonia on Saturday (22).
Femke Bol (Netherlands) | Profile
Season in summary:
After her breakthrough season in 2021, Femke Bol’s 2022 campaign was every bit as good - if not even better.
The Dutchwoman won eight major medals, including a unique treble at the European Athletics Championships in Munich where she won the 400m and 400m hurdles titles and produced a blazing 48.52 split to anchor the Netherlands to the 4x400m relay title.
Away from the European Athletics Championships, Bol won silver medals in the 400m and 4x400m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships and two more silvers in the 400m hurdles and mixed 4x400m relay at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
Her defeat to Sydney McLaughlin, who decimated the world record with 50.68, in Oregon was Bol’s only loss of the season outdoors in either the 400m or 400m hurdles.
What they said:
On achieving the 400m/400m hurdles double in Munich: "I’m still so happy when I look back. I think it was more difficult than I made it look! It’s not easy, it was completely different and it was really challenging but I’m happy my coaches and team challenged me to do this and we achieved it together."
On the rise of Dutch athletics: "We are achieving it together so you are enjoying it together and we are pushing each other every day. It’s great to see Niels Laros nominated for the Rising Star award so I think we are doing great as a country."
On following in the footsteps of European Athletes of the Year Dafne Schippers and Sifan Hassan: "I think they had a huge influence. I grew up with Dafne being one of the best athletes there is which was really inspiring for me - a girl from the Netherlands who became such a such a big star. Seeing Sifan doing so many events at the Olympics, it showed me 'OK, I should be able to do the 400m and 400m hurdles at the European Championships.' She's always pushing herself and challenging herself."
On her trophy cabinet: "I think it's full. My second Diamond League trophy doesn't fit so my coach told me you need to buy something - I'll go to IKEA!"
Five fastest 400m hurdles times in 2022:
- 52.27 - World Athletics Championships
- 52.27 - Stockholm
- 52.61 - Oslo
- 52.67 - European Athletics Championships
- 52.84 - World Athletics Championships (semifinals)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) | Profile
Season in summary:
Jakob Ingebrigtsen started his season by setting his world record with a 3:30.60 clocking in Lievin to become the first athlete in history to break the 3:31-barrier indoors and the Norwegian concluded his campaign by winning the Diamond League title in Zurich in a world lead of 3:29.05.
In between, Ingebrigtsen won five major medals in total. After a shock defeat to Jake Wightman in the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships, Ingebrigtsen dispatched the opposition in the 5000m final before winning his second 1500/5000m double at the European Athletics Championships in Munich.
After a sit-and-kick victory in the 5000m, Ingebrigtsen showed his versatility with a near gun-to-tape win in the 1500m in a championship record of 3:32.76. At only 21, this was Ingebrigtsen’s eighth European senior title and counting.
What they said:
On how many major titles he will win: "I can’t answer but I'm hoping for many more! What motivates me is to see how far I can go. I have to thank my team, my fiancee Elisabeth and my brothers for helping me on my way to try and become the best runner to ever exist."
On his plans away from the track in 2023: "I'm getting married after the Diamond League final next year. Elisabeth has a lot of credit for getting where I am getting in running and in life. I can't thank her enough."
On his excellent 2022 season: "Yes...but with the 1500m being my main event, I'm not satisfied with what I've achieved. Two silver medals, of course I would love to become a world champion in my event but all in all it's been a great season with a lot of great memories, medals, races and the Diamond League trophy."
On his friendship with Armand Duplantis: "We are really good friends. He's a really nice guy and it's pretty cool we have come this far, having our international breakthrough in 2018 together in Berlin. It's pretty cool to be on this journey beside him - him being a great guy and a great pole vaulter."
Five fastest 1500m times in 2022:
- 3:29.02 - Zurich
- 3:29.05 - Lausanne
- 3:29.47 - World Athletics Championships
- 3:30.60i - Lievin
- 3:31.08 - Oslo
Armand Duplantis (Sweden) | Profile
Season in summary:
It took Armand Duplantis just over two years and more than 50 attempts to revise his world record of 6.18m but after clearing 6.19m in Belgrade during the indoor season, the sky really does seem to be the limit.
Duplantis returned to the Serbian capital a fortnight later to win the world indoor title with another world record of 6.20m and the 22-year-old soared over yet another world record of 6.21m at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon with almost 10 centimetres to spare.
The Swede has made clearing six metres almost a formality and Duplantis soared over this mark in 15 of his 19 competitions indoors and outdoors, the most 6.00m-plus vaults ever achieved in one season. Despite the inclement conditions which greeted the pole vaulters at the European Athletics Championships, Duplantis still managed to defend the title he won as an 18-year-old in 2018 and improve his championship record to 6.06m.
What they said:
On sharing the European Athlete of the Year award with Jakob Ingebrigtsen: "I just want to say how honoured I am to be men’s European Athlete of the Year. It feels like it was just yesterday in 2018 when me and Jakob were sharing the men’s Rising Star award. To be in the situation where we are winning the ‘big boy’ award is truly an honour."
On defending his European title in Munich: "Not only myself but also Jakob - we had incredible seasons this year. To be able to finish it off with a strong performance at the European Championships was super important for us. The European Athletics Championships have been such huge stepping stones in our career and we’ve been able to have some defining moments as athletes in these competitions. I’m going to be really proud of this award for a long time."
Five best marks in 2022:
- 6.21m - World Athletics Championships
- 6.20m - World Athletics Indoor Championships
- 6.19m - Belgrade
- 6.16m - Stockholm
- 6.10m - Lausanne and Chorzów