Obikwelu is voted European Male Athlete of the Year 2006

Double European sprint champion Francis Obikwelu from Portugal, has been voted the Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006, the European Athletics Association announced today. Sweden’s Carolina Klüft was confirmed as the female title winner yesterday.

Obikwelu, who took the 2004 Olympic 100m silver medal in the process setting the European record (9.86 seconds), last summer won the European Championship double over 100m and 200m in Gothenburg, Sweden. Obikwelu ran 9.99 to win the dash and set a national record of 20.01 when winning the longer sprint. He also took a 100m/200m double at the European Cup first league meeting in Thessaloníki, Greece, in June.

On the global stage the Portuguese took second (100m) and fourth (200m) while representing Europe at the IAAF World Cup in Athens in September (16/17), having finished in fourth place at both distances at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany, just a week before (9/10).

“The award means the world to me and I am really honoured to have won it,” confirmed Obikwelu. “I’ve had a really good season in 2006 and this just tops it off.”

Obikwelu took the award ahead of Lithuania’s Virgilijus Alekna, last year’s winner, who is the reigning World, Olympic and European Discus Throw Champion, and Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen, the Olympic and European Javelin Throw champion, who was third.

Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year 2006:

1)   Francis Obikwelu (POR), 4
2)   Virgilijus Alekna (LTU), 6
3)   Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR), 9
4)   Christian Olsson (SWE), 12
5)   Roman Sebrle (CZE), 17
6)   Periklis Iakovakis  (GRE), 20
7)   Stefano Baldini (ITA), 25
8)   Bram Som (NED), 31
9=)   Francisco Fernandez (ESP), 34
      Ivan Heshko (UKR), 34