January provided an outstanding start to the athletics year with a plethora of great performances from European athletes.
The indoor season, which reaches a climax at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in the Czech Republic capital of Prague from 6-8 March, got off to a flying start with the first three European Athletics Indoor Permit Meetings and a host of other excellent marks from the continent’s top athletes at other meetings.
There were also two European Athletics Cross Country Permit Meetings during January.
European Athletics is consequently pleased to announce that athletes from 13 different countries have been nominated for the January award.
At the end of each month, a panel of experts produces a short list of the outstanding athletes and performances achieved by European athletes during that month, which is then mailed to the European athletics media and thousands of fans who have signed up to receive news from European Athletics.
The European Athlete of the Month fan voting takes place through our Facebook page, while members of the media can cast their vote on our website.
Fans are also able to vote through the European Athletics mobile applications on iPhone and Android phones.
The public, media and a group of expert statisticians cast their votes for the European Athlete of the Month with each category counting as 33.3 per cent of the vote.
For example, the winner of each poll will be awarded 10 points, second 9 points, etc. and the athlete with the most points after the three different polls have been counted will be declared the winner.
In the unlikely event of a tie, Hansjörg Wirz, the president of European Athletics, will have the casting vote.
The voting will close on Monday 16 February at noon CET.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.
MEN
Adam Kszczot POL (800m): the two-time European Athletics Indoor Championships 800m gold medallist ran a world-leading 1:46.48 to win for the fourth successive year at the European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting in the German city of Düsseldorf of 29 January.
Ali Kaya TUR (half marathon): followed up his silver medal at the 2014 SPAR European Cross Country Championships with a half marathon national record of 1:01:21, a time only one European beat in 2014, when finishing fourth on local roads in Adana on 4 January.
Arne Gabius GER (5000m): the 2012 European Championships 5000m silver medallist gave the local crowd plenty to cheer with a national record and world-leading time of 13:27.53 at the European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting in Düsseldorf of 29 January.
Dimitri Bascou FRA (60m hurdles): was unbeaten in six races over the barriers in total during January and sped to a world-leading time of 7.53 in both his heat than then the final to win at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January.
Eusebio Caceres ESP (long jump): now 23, the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships gold medallist flew out to a world-leading mark and indoor best of 8.16m to win at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January.
Ilhan Tanui –zbilen TUR (1500m): the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships silver medallist is looking to go one better in Prague and won in a world-leading time of 3:38.05 at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January.
James Dasaolu GBR (60m): the 2014 European Championships 100m gold medallist is already showing great indoor form and sped to a European-leading time of 6.52 at the European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting in the German city of Düsseldorf of 29 January.
Konrad Bukowiecki POL (shot put): the prodigiously talented 17-year-old, who won gold medals at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and IAAF World Junior Championships, set a world junior indoor record of 22.38m on home soil in Turon on 24 January.
Oleksandr Sitkovskyy UKR (marathon): 12th at the London 2012 Olympic Games, he ran a personal best and European-leading time of 2:09.11 when finishing third at the Marrakech Marathon on 25 January, a time only three European runners beat in 2014.
Marco Fassinotti ITA (high jump): won both his meetings in January, firstly clearing 2.32m in Birmingham on 11 January and then he improved his own world-leading mark to 2.34m, which also equalled his national record, in the Czech town of Hustopece on 24 January.
Renaud Lavillenie FRA (pole vault): the reigning Olympic and European champion won all four of his meetings in January, none of them at less than 5.80m, and the quartet were topped by a world-leading 6.00m clearance on home soil in Rouen on 24 January.
Tomáš Stan„›k CZE (shot put): the 23-year-old thrower produced the best distance of his life under cover with what was then a world-leading mark and indoor personal best of 20.78m in the Czech town of Jablonec on 24 January.
WOMEN
Alina Talay BLR (60m hurdles): ran a world-leading time of 7.96 at the European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting in Düsseldorf of 29 January to be the first woman in the world this year to go under eight seconds and won all three of her competitions during the month.
Anastasiya Mokhnyuk UKR (multi-events): the 24-year-old made a huge improvement and put together a personal best and world-leading total of 4707 points for the indoor pentathlon at the Ukraine team championships in Zaporizhzhya on 27 January.
Dina Asher-Smith GBR (60m): the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships 100m gold medallist clocked a European-leading time of 7.12 in both her heat and final to win at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January.
Jenny Meadows GBR (800m): now 33, the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships gold medallist ran a world-leading 1:59.21 in Vienna on 31 January, the first woman to go under two minutes over the distance in 2014.
Kamila Licwinko POL (high jump): the 28-year-old 2014 world indoor champion went over a world-leading height of 2.00m, and equalled her own national record, at a high quality competition in the German city of Cottbus on 27 January.
Louise Carton BEL (cross country): still only 20, she caused a huge surprise when she won on home soil at the European Athletics Cross Country Permit Meeting in Hannut on 25 January, covering the challenging and muddy 6km course in 22:04.
Morgan Lake GBR (multi-events): put together a world age-17 best pentathlon total of 4448 points to win at the combined events international in the French town of Nogent-sur-Oise on 24 January, just 87 points shy of Carolina Klüft’s European junior record.
Marion Fiack FRA (pole vault): surprised many people when she went over what was a world-leading height and national record of 4.71m on home turf in Aubière on 10 January.
Sifan Hassan NED (1500m): the 21-year-old 2014 European Championships gold medallist ran a world-leading time and national record of 4:02.57 at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January.
Sosthene Moguenara GER (long jump): now 24, the former European Athletics U23 Championships medallist jumped an indoor personal best and world-leading 6.84m at her provincial championships in Saarbrucken on 11 January.
Tetyana Gamera-Shmyrko UKR (marathon): the 31-year-old runner won at the Osaka Women’s Marathon in a national record of 2:22.09 on 25 January, taking well over a minute of the previous national record and almost two minutes off her own previous best.
Yelena Korobkina RUS (3000m): the 2009 European junior champion won in a world-leading time and personal best of 8:47.61 in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 January, almost three seconds faster than she had ever run before under any conditions.