Only ten days remain to participate in the AIPS annual survey in recognition of the athletes who have inspired the world in such a difficult and complicated year for their outstanding achievements in sport. The International Association of Sports Press (AIPS) has pre-selected a total of 53 athletes and teams, divided into three categories (female, male and by teams), among which are four Spanish representatives. The badminton player Carolina Marín is the only Spaniard on the list of 21 women, where other athletes such as Lindsey Vonn or Serena Williams also stand out.
Among the men’s category, Spain has two representatives: Rafa Nadal and the Barcelona footballer Ansu Fati. Both compete with several references from other sports disciplines, such as Le Bron James (basketball) or Lewis Hamilton (F1). Tennis player Novak Djokovic and footballers Robert Lewandowsky and Cristiano Ronaldo are also up for this award.
The Spanish handball team opts for the trophy for the best team. Norway’s (men’s and women’s) biathlon teams, Bayern Munich, Liverpool FC, Los Angeles Lakers or the Mercedes-AMG Petronas (F1) team are also on the shortlist in this category.
Despite a sports calendar strongly marked by COVID-19, including a long hiatus due to the pandemic, these athletes and teams have shone with their own light in 2020.
To elucidate the winners of each category, AIPS relies on its vast network of professionals throughout the world. Spain, through the Spanish Association of Sports Press, has more than a hundred sports journalists with voting rights.
Members can vote by clicking this link or through the AIPS website. The AIPS card number is required to start the voting procedure, which will be available until December 28 at 11:59 pm CET.
Full list of candidates:
Best Female Athlete of 2020
- Babos, Timea (Hungary) – Tennis
- Brignone, Federica (Italy) – Alpine Esquí
- Gidey, Letesenbet (Ethiopia) – Athletics
- Hassan, Sifan (Netherlands) – Athletics
- Hermann, Tina (Germany) – Skeleton
- Jepchirchir, Peres (Kenya) – Athletics
- Kenin, Sofia (EE.UU.) – Tennis
- Kosgey, Brigid (Kenya) – Athletics
- Kostornaya, Alëna Sergeevna (Russia) – Figure Skating
- Lucz, Dora (Hungary) – Canoeing
- Marin, Carolina (Spain) – Badminton
- Miedema, Vivianne (Netherlands) – Soccer
- Osaka, Naomi (Japan) – Tennis
- Bridge, Sanita (Ireland) – Rowing
- Røiseland, Marte Olsbu (Norway) – Biathlon
- Rojas, Yulimar (Venezuela) – Athletics
- Shiffrin, Mikaela (EE.UU.) – Esquí alpino
- Świątek, Iga (Polonia) – Tennis
- Van der Breggen, Anna (Netherlands) – Cycling
- Vonn, Lindsay (EE.UU.) – Esquí alpino
- Williams, Serena (EE.UU.) Tennis
Best Male Athlete 2020
- Alaphilippe, Julian (France) – Cycling
- Boe Johannes, Tignes (Norway) – Biathlon
- Cheptegei, Joshua (Uganda) – Athletics
- Djokovic, Novak (Serbia) – Tennis
- Duplantis, Armand (Sweden) – Athletics
- Fati, Ansu (Spain) – Football
- Hamilton, Lewis (UK) – Formula 1
- James, LeBron (USA) – Basketball
- Kilde, Alexander Aamodt (Norway) – Alpine skiing
- Lewandowski, Robert (Poland) – Soccer
- Nadal, Rafael (Spain) – Tennis
- Nielsen, Sverri (Denmark) – Remo
- Pogačar, Tadej (Eslovenia) – Ciclismo
- Prskavec, Jiří (Czech Republic) – Canoeing
- Ronaldo, Cristiano (Portugal) – Soccer
- Thiem, Dominic (Austria) – Tennis
- Thomas, Justin (EE.UU.) – Golf
- Tsitsipas, Stefanos (Greece) – Tennis
- Vetter, Johannes (Germany) – Athletics
- Warholm, Karsten (Norway) – Athletics
Best team of 2020
- Bobteam Friedrich (Alemania) – Bobsleigh
- FC Bayern Munich (Germany) – Football
- German Eight (Germany) – Rowing
- Liverpool FC (Great Britain) – Soccer
- Los Angeles Lakers (USA) – Basketball
- Men’s K1 Team (France) – Canoe-Kayak Slalom
- Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (Germany) – Formula 1
- Norway Biathlon Team (Women) (Norway) – Biathlon
- Norway Biathlon Team (Men) (Norway) – Biathlon
- National Handball Team (Spain) – Handball
- Swiss National Alpine Skiing Team (Switzerland) – Alpine Skiing
- Timea Babos and Christina Mladenovich (Hungary) – Tennis
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