27 October 2019

Mariya Lasitskene crowned 2019 European Female Athlete of the Year

Mariya Lasitskene has been crowned European Female Athlete of the year at the Golden Tracks Award ceremony, beating a high class field of athletes.

The Authorised Neutral Athlete was part of an all-star shortlist which also included 2018 winner Britain's Dina Asher-Smith, long jumper Malaika Mihambo from Germany and the Netherlands’ 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan.

26-year-old Lasitskene won 22 of her 24 high jump competitions this year including the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March and defending her title at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha earlier this month. 

“It is a huge honour to win this award and be recognised as the Athlete of the Year by European Athletics,” said Lasitskene, who is the third high jumper to win the title after Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic in 2007 and 2010 and Spain’s Ruth Beitia in 2016. 

She added: “It has been a great year for me and it was a thrill to become the first high jumper to win the World Championships on three occasions.”

Lasitskene flies into pole position in Doha (PA Images)

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