On the picture: President of the EOK Urmas Sõõrumaa, Martin Järveoja, Karmen Bruus, Janek Õiglane, Kelly Sildaru, Gerd Kanter, president of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis
Women's award – Kelly Sildaru
Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Sildaru received the title of female athlete of the year for the second time since being chosen as the female athlete of the year in 2019.
„This Kristjan has a different meaning for me than the first one.
When I got my first Kristjan, I was so young that maybe I couldn't understand
its meaning or significance. It was the same with the Olympics. Although I
couldn't go to the Olympics in 2018, when I think back on it, at that
moment I didn't understand how big and important the Olympics were. Now I understand these things completely differently," said Sildaru.
Men's award – Janek Õiglane
Estonian Male Athlete of the Year Janek Õiglane took bronze in the decathlon at this summer's European Athletics Championships in Munich.
"I want to give good emotions to the people who keep their fingers crossed for me. I am very thankful for this award," added Õiglane.
Coach award - Gerd KanterGerd Kanter was chosen as the best coach of 2022, whose student Kristjan Čeh became the world champion this year, won silver at the European championships and set a new Slovenian national record.
„Although foreign coaches have previously won this award while training Estonian athletes, as far as I know, no Estonian coach who trained a foreign athlete has won this title. In this sense, I was a bit sceptical before the gala, but I am definitely extremely happy. It was an exceptional season and what Kristjan managed is remarkable,“ Kanter said.
The team of the year award went to rally duo Ott Tänak-Martin Järveoja. They finished the WRC season with second place, during the season they won three rallies - Italy, Finland and Belgium - and reached the podium five more times.
High jumper Karmen Bruus was named the young athlete of the year. 17-year-old Bruus became U20 world champion. At the World Championships for adults, she repeated the Estonian record and the world's top result for the under-18s, taking seventh place with 1.96.