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| 2011 European Athletics Rising Stars Jodie Williams of Great Britain, David Storl of Germany, 2011 European Athlete of the Year Mariya Savinova of Russia with European Athletics President Hansjorg Wirz at the European Athletics Awards Night presented by MONDO in Arona, Spain, on Saturday night. (Photos by Daniel L Cetrulo) |
The best of European Athletics was honoured at a glittering ceremony to mark the European Athletics Awards Night presented by MONDO in Arona, Spain, on Saturday evening.
Great Britain's Mo Farah and Russia’s Mariya Savinova were presented with the 2011 European Athlete of the Year Awards while Germany’s David Storl and Briton Jodie Williams were awarded the European Athletics Rising Star Awards during the ceremony that was the highlight of the three-day annual European Athletics Convention.
More than 250 key decision makers from the 50 European Athletics Member Federations had gathered for the annual conclave.
Middle-distance runner Mariya Savinova, who became only the fourth Russian woman after compatriots Irina Privalova, Svetlana Masterkova and Yelena Isinbayeva to be honoured as the European Athlete of the Year, was thrilled to be in distinguished company.
“It was a remarkable year on the track and this award has made it one of the most special years of my career. The other Russian athletes who have won this prestigious award have all gone on to win Olympic medals and I will be training very hard to achieve the same next year. This award is a great motivation for working extra hard,” said Savinova.
The highlight of Savinova's brilliant year, in which she only lost one of her 10 outings over 800m, was without doubt her victory at the World Championships this summer.
She grabbed the gold medal over two laps of the track in a stunning time of 1:55.87.
British middle distance star Mo Farah, who is based out of Portland in the United States, could not attend the Awards Night due to his training commitments. IAAF vice president and London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe received the award on his behalf.
The 28-year-old Londoner is the first male long distance runner winning this poll since it started in 1993, an honour which follows in the wake of him winning the 2011 World Championships 5000m title and setting a European record over 10,000m.
“I am delighted to be selected as European Athlete of the Year for 2011. I would like to thank European Athletics and everyone who voted for me. It’s a pity that I could not be there tonight,” said Farah through a video message that was played during the Gala.
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| Russia's Mariya Savinova receives the European Athlete of the Year Award from European Athletics President Hansjorg Wirz. |
“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get to this stage of my career, in particular my coach Alberto Salazar, my family and my management team. I will continue working hard and aim to stay on top in 2012 and beyond,” he added.
The Rising Star of th