Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Greece’s Ekaterini Stefanidi have been voted male and female European Athlete of the Month for June.
Warholm enjoyed success at age-group level in the decathlon but the Norwegian has excelled in the last twelve months in the 400m hurdles. After making the European Championships final last summer in his first season at the event, Warholm made a big breakthrough on home soil at the Bislett Games in Oslo where he smashed his Norwegian record with 48.25.
Your Male Athlete of the Month for June: Karsten Warholm! #athleteofthemonth pic.twitter.com/FTScuGKigS
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 7, 2017
This breakout win was followed by two more high quality wins: 48.82 in the Stockholm Diamond League and a championship record of 48.46 at the European Athletics Team Championships First League in Vaasa, Finland. Warholm also took a huge chunk off the Norwegian record in the 400m last month, clocking 44.87 in Floro to break the record by one second.
Stefanidi has claimed three major titles in the space of a year and the Greek will be looking to claim a fourth at the World Championships in London.
Your Female Athlete of the Month for June: Ekaterini Stefanidi! #athleteofthemonth pic.twitter.com/MORuWVREl7
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 7, 2017
The Olympic champion is unbeaten this summer and took three noteworthy wins in June. She cleared a world-leading mark of 4.85m in the Rome Diamond League before attempting a world record of 5.07m and she ensured Greece would remain in the European Athletics Team Championships Super League by claiming maximum points in Lille Metropole with a 4.70m clearance.
Warholm received more than 1000 likes and 256 shares on Facebook while Stefanidi also dominated the voting with nearly 100 shares on Facebook.