by Alfonz Juck
Bol and Duplantis crowned European AoY
BATUMI (GEO): Femke Bol and Armand Duplantis have been crowned European Athletes of the Year once again at the Golden Tracks award night in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday. This was the third time Bol and Duplantis have been crowned European Athlete of the Year, a feat which has only previously been achieved by Great Britain’s Mo Farah.
Both winners are also former recipients of the Rising Star trophy, winning this trophy in 2021 and 2018 respectively. This year’s Rising Star winners were Audrey Werro and Hubert Trościanka. “I would like to send my warmest congratulations to all of the award winners and nominees at tonight’s Golden Tracks awards night in Batumi. It was wonderful to reflect on another fantastic year of athletics and celebrate the outstanding feats of those on and off the field of play,” said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.
A special Lifetime Achievement award was also presented by President Karamarinov to Armenia’s Robert Emmiyan, whose European long jump record of 8.86m has endured on the books since 1987. The first of the annual European Athletics Coaching Awards were presented on-stage in Batumi to Georgian coaches Marina Kotrikadze and Zigmund Zilbershtein. And the first ever Referees of the Year were also honoured, Sweden’s Anna Palmerius and Niels van der Aar of the Netherlands. The 2026 Golden Tracks will be held in Lausanne. Via European Athletics.
