The appeal of the 2009 European Athletics Awards Night touched a new high with our traditional partners MONDO joining hands with us to foster the cause of recognising and rewarding the best European athletes of the year. The ever-growing presence of international media at the awards is a testimony to the significance of the awards.
An action packed year that included the World Championships and European Athletics Indoor Championships among a host of other championships produced a number of contenders for the coveted awards.
After thousands of votes were cast, world Triple Jump champion Phillips Idowu of Great Britain and world 3000m steeplechase champion Marta Domínguez of Spain emerged as Europe's finest athletes of the year.
The great honour of being named the winners of the European Athletics Rising Star Awards fell to French sprint sensation Christophe Lemaître and Norway's middle-distance prodigy Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal. These awards recognised their spectacular performances throughout 2009.
All four winners were presented with their awards by European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz at a special European Athletics Awards Night presented by MONDO, organised during the European Athletics Convention in Budapest, Hungary.
European Athletics wishes to thank MONDO and looks forward to an exciting partnership in the coming years.
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