Marcell Jacobs elected athlete of the year

Marcell Jacobs in triumph

Marcell Jacobs Man of the Year, Elena Vallortigara Woman of the Year: these are the main verdicts of the poll launched by the Italian Athletics Federation to symbolically award the Italian champions protagonists of the season that is ending. Also winning “Athlete of the Year 2022” is the women’s 4×100 relay team (Zaynab Dosso, Dalia Kaddari, Anna Bongiorni, Alessia Pavese, Gloria Hooper) elected Team of the Year, young Mattia Furlani and Rachele Mori who triumphed for the U20 category, and masters Roberto Paesani and Anna Micheletti chosen as the best ‘over 35’ of the season. As known, the vote was represented by a mix of the preferences expressed by a jury of experts (leading Italian athletics journalists, federal presidency, technical direction) with a weight of 2/3, and the votes expressed on the Instagram and Facebook profiles of Atletica Italiana (weight 1/3), based on the nominations that had been presented on December 23.

The men’s title flies in the trophy case of Marcell Jacobs, who in the post-Tokyo season, though tribulated by injuries, managed to bring home the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade with a European record in the 60 (6.41) and success at the European Championships in Munich in the 100 (9.95). The Olympian excelled in both rankings (social and jury), but a mention is also necessary for the three other fabulous athletes on whom the jury’s votes were focused: world 35-kilometer march gold medalist Massimo Stano, European and Diamond League champion in the high hurdles Gianmarco Tamberi, and European 10,000 gold medalist Yeman Crippa. Among the women, the joy is for Elena Vallortigara, a splendid bronze medalist at the World Championships in Eugene with her return to 2.00 in the high jump after four years, a performance that convinced the jury of quality and allowed her to win the very proud competition of two other 2022 protagonists such as European hammer bronze medalist Sara Fantini and U23 gold medalist in the cross Nadia Battocletti. It is worth noting, with full merit, the avalanche of social preferences for Gaia Sabbatini, the top vote-getter among all categories.