Adam Peaty and Katinka Hosszu have been named the top male and female swimmers in Europe in 2019 in the 12th edition of the LEN Awards.
It is the third time in four years that Peaty has been given this accolade – which is voted for by national federations and the European governing body’s officials – and the fifth in seven years for Hosszu which reflects the pair’s domination of their respective events in the pool.
Adam Peaty wears his lion on his sleeve – Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse
Peaty, of Great Britain, drove the 100m breaststroke even further into outer orbit when he smashed through the 57-second barrier in 56.88 at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea en-route to becoming the first man to complete the triple double as he won the 50-100m for the third consecutive world titles.
Katinka Hosszu – Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer
Hosszu, of Hungary, won the individual medley double in Gwangju for the fourth successive worlds and ended the year with four more golds at the European Short-Course Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Briton spoke of his pride at receiving the award while acknowledging the team around him, chief among them coach Mel Marshall who has guided him since he walked through her doors at the City of Derby club aged 14 and now at the national centre in Loughborough.
There was also a nod to Kristof Milak who took down Michael Phelps‘ iconic 200 fly record in Gwangju and was second in the voting.
Peaty said through British Swimming:
“I’m incredibly honoured to receive such a prestigious award, especially with other athletes such as [Kristóf] Milák breaking down barriers that we thought were impossible. It shows that the sport is growing in the right direction and it’s amazing to be headlining that right now.
“As always though it’s down to my irreplaceable team that help me get these results and I want to thank everyone for such commitment and dedication to what I do.”
Peaty was an emphatic winner with 45.8% of the vote – recognition of how he is consistently re-writing history and his thunderclap world record – ahead of Hosszu’s Hungarian compatriot Milak who collected 16.7%.
Kristof Milak celebrates victory in Gwangju in world-record time. Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer
Russian pair Anton Chupkov – who broke the 200 breast world record in South Korea – and Evgeny Rylov, winner of five medals including gold in the 200 back, were next with 12.2% of the vote apiece.
Peaty first won the award in 2016, the year in which he twice lowered his own world record en-route to Olympic gold.
Only in 2018 in the years since has the award found a different home when Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov was recognised for his six medals – three of them gold – at the European Championships in Glasgow.
He becomes the first man to win the award three times ahead of Yannick Agnel, who won the 200 free at the 2012 Olympics, and was twice voted top European male in 2012 and 2013.
Hosszu won 50% of the women’s vote followed by Sarah Sjostrom, 50 fly gold among a five-strong worlds haul, with 25% and Simona Quadarella, who had a memorable tussle with Katie Ledecky before taking 800m silver to add to 1500m gold, third with 13.1%. The Italian then completed the 400-800m free double at the European Short-Course Championships in Glasgow.
Sarah Sjostrom. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
Hosszu was first given the award in 2013 and has been recognised every year since bar 2017 and 2018 when Sjostrom took top spot.
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Both Peaty and Hosszu have been at the forefront of the growing volume of the athletes’ voice in the last 12 months or so.
Peaty challenged FINA to ban him when he backed the formation of the International Swimming League while Hosszu was among a trio of athletes along with Tom Shields and Michael Andrew to file a lawsuit against the world governing body in the US district court for its threat to sanction any athletes that competed in an ISL event.
Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky retained his award in open water swimming albeit by a fingernail – just 1.7% – from Germany’s Florian Wellbrock after the pair won the 5km and 10km respectively in Gwangju.
Florian Wellbrock. Photo Courtesy: Patrick Kraemer
Wellbrock also came sixth in the pool swimming vote following his victory in the 1500m.
By contrast, Italy’s Rachele Bruni was an emphatic winner in the women’s equivalent with 73.9% of the vote after winning silver in the 5k team event and bronze in the 10k.
Other recipients were Russian divers Aleksandar Bondar and Ekaterina Beliaeva.
Bondar stopped a four-year winning streak by British divers as he collected 37.5% of the vote, 4.2% more than 2016 and 2018 winner Jack Laugher.
Bondar took silver in the men’s 10m synchro at the worlds with Viktor Minibaev and bronze in the 10m platform.
Beliaeva was one of the two European female medallists in Gwangju where she won silver with Minibaev in the mixed 10m synchro platform three weeks after turning 16.
Russian Aleksandr Maltsev and Ona Carbonell of Spain won the respective artistic swimming awards with Francesco di Fulvio of Italy and Spain’s Laura Ester voted top water polo players.
Full list of award winners:
Swimming
Men:
- Adam Peaty (GBR) 45.8%
- Kristof Milak (HUN) 16.7%
- Anton Chupkov (RUS) 12.2%
- Evgeny Rylov (RUS) 12.2 %
- Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) 8.6%
- Florian Wellbrock (GER) 4.5%
Women
- Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 50.0%
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 25.0%
- Simona Quadarella (ITA) 13.1%
- Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 7.7%
- Yulia Efimova (RUS) 4.2%
Open water
Men
- Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) 39.2%
- Florian Wellbrock (GER) 37.5%
- Marc-Antoine Olivier (FRA) 10.3%
- Axel Reymond (FRA) 1.3%
- Rob Muffels (GER) 2.7%
Women
- Rachele Bruni (ITA) 73.9%
- Leonie Beck (GER) 8.7%
- Aurelie Muller (FRA) 8.7%
- Lara Grangeon (FRA) 4.3%
- Finnia Wunram (GER) 4.3%
Diving
Men
- Aleksandar Bondar (RUS)37.5%
- Jack Laugher (GBR) 33.3%
- Oleksii Sereda (UKR) 21.2%
- Patrick Hausding (GER) 4.0%
- Evgeniy Kuznetsov (RUS) 4.0%
Women
- Ekaterina Beliaeva (RUS) 50.0%
- Inge Jansen (NED) 12.5%
- Vitalia Koroleva (RUS) 12.5%
- Sofia Lyskun (UKR) 12.5%
- Tina Punzel (GER) 12.5%
Artistic swimming
Men
- Aleksandr Maltsev (RUS) 47.6%
- Girogio Minisini (ITA) 28.6%
- Pau Ribes (ESP) 23.8%
Women
- Ona Carbonell (ESP) 36.4%
- Sv. Kolesnichenko (RUS) 22.7%
- Svetlana Romashina (RUS) 22.7%
- Marta Fiedina (UKR) 13.7%
- Anastasia Savchuk (UKR) 4.5%
Water Polo
Men
- Francesco di Fulvio (ITA) 52.2%
- Dani Lopez (ESP) 17.4%
- Nikola Jaksic (SRB) 13.8%
- Marton Vamos (HUN) 8.3%
- Ante Vukicevic (CRO) 8.3%
Women
- Laura Ester (ESP) 45.5%
- Rita Keszthelyi (HUN) 22.7%
- Beatriz Ortiz (ESP) 13.6%
- Arianna Garibotti (ITA) 9.1%
- Ekaterina Prokofyeva (RUS) 9.1%