Lavillenie and Schippers win European Athletes of the Year at Golden Tracks awards, by EME News

Renaud Lavillenie, photo by PhotoRun.net

Dafne Schippers, photo by PhotoRun.net

The European Athletes of the Year are given out right after the season ends. I like that. Nicely done ceremony as well, and congrats to Renaud Lavillenie and Dafne Schippers for their European Athletes of the Year awards!

Lavillenie and Schippers
BAKU (AZE): French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and sprinter Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands were named European Athletes of the Year at the Golden Tracks awards ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday evening. Great Britain’s 200 m European Champion Adam Gemili and Russia’s high jumper Mariya Kuchina claimed the European Athletics Rising Star awards. With the Golden Tracks being shown live on television and streamed live across the world, all four athletes were present to collect their trophies in a glittering ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel in the iconic Flame Towers accompanied by the Orient Express band live music. Lavillenie, Kuchina and Schippers plan to compete indoors next year, but Gemili for the moment no. Azerbaijan public television channel iTV produced a 45-minute programme that was made available live to European Broadcasting Union members, with the programme also being broadcast on national television later that evening. In the men ranking second Bohdan Bondarenko and third Mo Farah, in women ranking second Anita Wlodarczyk and third Ruth Beitia. In the Rising Star ranking among men second Polish shot putter Konrad Bukowiecki and third French hurdler Wilhelm Belocian. In the women ranking second Swiss pole vaulter Angelica Moser and third Czech walking World junior champion Anezka Drahotova. Also presented to Briton Scott Grace the European Athletics Innovation Award (20 000 CHF) for his programme to retain and develop young athletes called “Athletics 365”. In total 57 coaches are awarded representing 31 federations, among them directly in Baku from Turkey Zeynep Batar for her coaching work in junior category and Maharram Sultanadze, the head coach of Azerbaijan federation.

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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