by Stuart Weir
European Athletics Awards
European athletics is in a good place, with several of this year’s outstanding European athletes. At last weekend’s award ceremony, the Men’s European Athlete of the Year was Armand Duplantis, and the women’s winner was Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
I was in Paris (Diamond League) when Yaroslava broke that long-standing high jump world record. I need more space to list the events that I’ve attended. Mondo broke the world record! Despite the achievements of Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Bol, it is hard to argue with the nomination of Yaroslava. About Mondo, has there ever been an athlete who has achieved such excellence consistently?
The women’s Rising Star was Adriana Vilagos from Serbia. At just 20, she was second in the 2024Diamond League final and took silver in the European Championships. She also won the world under-20 championship in 2021 and 2022.
Men’s Rising Star was Niels Laros (Netherlands), who ran 3:29.54 for sixth place in the 2024 Olympic 1500m.
A very special award, Team Spirit Recognition Award went to Team Italy for their performance as hosts in the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, where Italy won 24 medals (11 gold). Coaching Award went to Dragutin Topic (SRB) and Derdi Vilagos (SRB)
