Alpine skier Petra Vlhova and the canoe slalom team won 2019 Athlete of the Year awards in the individual and team categories, respectively. The awards ceremony was held on Thursday evening.
Vlhova gained the Athlete of the Year title for the first time. The world champion in the giant slalom was followed from the winners of the previous two years - the biathlete star Anastasia Kuzmina and the winner of the 2013, 2015 and 2017 Athlete of the Year, cyclist Peter Sagan.
Vlhova has become the fifth woman to triumph in the competition following the swimmer Martina Moravcova, canoeist Elena Kaliska, biathlete Anastasia Kuzmina and sports shooter Zuzana Rehak-Stefecek. Swimmer Moravcova with six victories remains a record-holder in the 27-year history of the competition. Whitewater canoeist Martikan has two fewer victories.
As for the teams, the first place went to the canoe slalom C1 team of Michal Martikan, Alexander Slafkovsky and Matej Benus thanks to which Slovakia clinched its ninth consecutive IFC World Championships victory in La Seu d'Urgell in Spain. The second place went to the Slovak hockeyball team and the third place to the K-4 (kayak four) 500 m team.
