Skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecká became the best Czech sportswoman of the year for the third time in her career.
This year’s 30-year-old world champion won 1466 points in the 67th edition of the journalist’s poll and beat speed canoeist Martin Fuksa by 123 points. Hockey player David Pastrňák took third place.
The defender of the trophy, another canoeist Josef Dostál, finished fifth. Ledecká followed up on the firsts from 2018 and 2022 and is only one victory away from equaling the historical maximum of the poll.
Among the collectives, the volleyball representatives triumphed, surprisingly winning fourth place at the World Championships in September and achieving the best ranking in individual history.
The results of the traditional poll of the Club of Sports Journalists were announced today in a ceremony at the Prague Hilton Hotel, the winner could not participate in person because of the race in Val d’Isère.
In this year’s non-Olympic year, Ledecká rewrote history. She was the first to win medals at two different world championships under the banner of the International Ski Federation FIS in one season.
In February, she won bronze in downhill skiing, and in March she won gold and silver in snowboarding.
VIDEO: Ledecká received the trophy
Ledecka lacks only one triumph to equal the maximum in the poll, which is held by legends Věra Čáslavská and Jan Železný with four victories.
With her third victory, the skiing “amphibian” overtook Martina Sáblíková, who won the Sportswoman of the Year in 2007, 2009 and 2010. This time, the thirty-eight-year-old speed skater took 10th place.
In addition to the three-time Olympic champion Ledecká, two more speed canoeists from the final ten became world champions this year. Fuksa won gold in the kilometer in August, which earned him second place in the poll. He thus improved his maximum by one position – last year’s third place.
Defending the first place in the poll, Dostál triumphed on the non-Olympic 500 meter track, and journalists ranked him fifth this year.
In addition to Ledecká and Fuks, Boston hockey player Pastrňák, the best Czech player in Canadian scoring last season of the NHL, and tennis player Kateřina Siniaková got ahead of him. The twenty-nine-year-old native of Hradec Králové ended the year as the world doubles number one for the fifth time.
This year, there were four complete newcomers in the elite ten, the best of them, hockey player Martin Nečas, finished sixth. The winning Ledecká (53) collected the most first places, the second Fuksa was on the highest place among 44 journalists.
The voting was equal between the collectives. Finally, the volleyball players won by 36 points, who last dominated the poll back in the days of Czechoslovakia in 1966. The basketball players, winners of the European League, finished second.
The third place was taken by the mixed relay of biathletes for an unexpected silver at the World Championships.
Among the juniors, the speed skater Metoděj Jílek won, who also made it to the final ten of the main category, where he finished eighth.
This time, two former athletes, Imrich Bugár and Helena Fibingerová, were unusually declared sports legends.
The award for dedication to sport was won by Petr Pála, who said goodbye to the role of captain of the Czech female tennis players after 17 years.
Journalists vote in the poll in two rounds. First, they select ten finalists and three collectives, from which they then choose the winners.
A total of 231 journalists voted this year, 56 athletes received at least one point among individuals.
