Ester Ledecká is the Athlete of the Year for the second time, among the teams the hockey players dominated the poll

On Wednesday evening, the results of the 64th annual Sportsman of the Year poll were announced. The individual category was dominated by skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecká, who took her second win in 2018. The best team was the bronze medallists from the World Ice Hockey Championships.

The gala evening, held at the Hilton Hotel in Prague, was hosted by moderator Daniela Písařovicová, with music provided by the band Čechomor. The live broadcast was broadcast by ČT1.

Last year’s winner of the poll, organized by the Club of Sports Journalists, judoka Lukáš Krpálek did not make it into the elite ten this time. He was followed by Ester Ledecká, this year’s Olympic champion in the parallel giant slalom on snowboard, with 1593 points.

In alpine skiing in Beijing, she finished fourth in the combined and fifth in the super-G. She also won the World Cup event in Crans-Montana, in the downhill discipline. She has not competed in the current season yet as she is recovering from a broken collarbone.

On the imaginary podium were successful doubles players Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who together achieved three Grand Slam championships in 2022, and hockey player David Pastrnak.

Jakub Vadlejch, this year’s European javelin vice-champion and World Championships bronze medallist, finished fourth. Fifth place Martina Sáblíková, who added to her rich collection of speed skating successes with her third place in the 5000m at the Olympics, was still over a thousand points behind in the final standings.

The sixth place was taken by biathlete Markéta Davidová, the seventh by sport climber Adam Ondra, the eighth by water slalom racer Vít Přindiš, the ninth by javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková and the TOP 10 was closed by MMA fighter Jiří Procházka.

The top three teams had an interesting composition. Both senior hockey teams won bronze at their respective world championships this year. In the end, the men’s national team was named Collective of the Year, with the women coming second. The third position belongs to the floorball players thanks to the silver from the World Championships.

In the junior category, the swimmer Daniel Gracík, the owner of the butterfly gold and silver from the European championships under 18 years old, rejoices. He was followed closely by other young Czech sport hopefuls – biathlete Tereza Voborníková and judoka Adam Kopecký.

The Emil Zátopek Prize was awarded to former motorcycle racer Květoslav Mašita, who was listed among the sports legends. He is, among others, a six-time winner of the famous six-day.

The award of the National Sports Agency for dedication to sport was given to the legendary athlete and now coach Jarmila Kratochvílová. Incidentally, her world record in the 800 metres, which stands at 1:53.28, may reach its 40th anniversary next July.

Source: Athlete of the Year, CT1