Hungarian swimming legends László Cseh and Katinka Hosszú have been named Europe’s best swimmers by LEN, the continent’s wimming federation and thus won the 2015 Len Awards for male and female swimmers respectively. Earlier only the Germans could achieve this double when Paul Biedermann and Britta Steffen won the awards in 2009.
The voting saw a really balanced field in men’s swimming with Cseh being ranked first at the end. The Hungarian staged a great comeback in Kazan, winning a world title after 10 years (in the 200m fly) and becoming the first male swimmer medalling at seven World Championships and also the first one clinching medals in all three distances in the same stroke (apart from freestyle). His golden triple at the short-course Europeans topped by two European Records in Netanya could be a real booster in the voting. Britain’s Adam Peaty, three-time world champion (with two WRs in the season) was a close second, while Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, world champion and short-course European champion (broke the s/c WR in the 1500m free in Netanya) came third.
Katinka Hosszú completed another outstanding season and won the LEN Award for the third straight occasion. She retained her two individual medley world titles in Kazan while breaking her first ever long-course World Record in the 200m. Later she went on winning the overall World Cup title and finished her run in Netanya with the best ever individual showing in the history of the short-course Europeans by capturing 6 gold and a silver medal. Sarah Sjostrom is the runner-up in the election, the Swede collected five medals in Kazan (and broke a WR) and added three titles in the s/c Europeans.
Cseh and Hosszú respectively secured 32 and a whopping 66 per cent of votes cast to win the awards.
Also among 2015’s most outstanding European water sports stars are the Hungarian female national water polo team’s new captain Rita Keszthelyi and female open-water swimmer Anna Orosz, who won a silver medal on 25 kilometres at World Championships last year.
LEN Awards 2015
Swimming
Men
László Cseh (HUN) 31.9%
Adam Peaty (GBR) 25.5%
Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) 23.4%
Florent Manaudou (FRA) 12.8%
Marco Koch (GER) 6.4%
Women
Katinka Hosszú (HUN) 66.0%
Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 21.3%
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) 8.5%
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 4.2%
Diving
Men
Tom Daley (GBR) 42.2%
Jack Laugher (GBR) 24.4%
Evgeny Kuznetsov (RUS) 13.3%
Ilya Zakharov (RUS) 11.2%
Matthieu Rosset (FRA) 8.9%
Women
Tania Cagnotto (ITA) 80.0%
Yulia Prokopchuk (RUS) 8.9%
Rebecca Gallantree (GBR) 4.4%
Nadezhda Bazhina (RUS) 4.4%
Tina Punzel (GER) 2.3%
Synchro
Svetlana Romashina (RUS) 50.0%
Ona Carbonell (ESP) 25.0%
Natalia Ishchenko (RUS) 25.0%
Open water swimming
Men
Ferry Weertman (NED) 28.3%
Simone Ruffini (ITA) 26.1%
Christian Reichert (GER) 19.6%
Matteo Furlan (ITA) 13.0%
Rob Muffels (GER) 13.0%
Women
Aurelie Muller (FRA) 40.9%
Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) 25.0%
Rachele Bruni (ITA) 18.2%
Anna Olasz (HUN) 9.1%
Isabelle Harle (GER) 6.8%
Water polo
Men
Dusko Pijetlovic (SRB) 72.8%
Ioannis Fountoulis (GRE) 9.1%
Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) 9.1%
Maro Jokovic (CRO) 4.5%
Josip Pavic (CRO) 4.5%
Women
Roberta Bianconi (ITA) 31.8%
Maud Megens (NED) 29.5%
Rita Keszthelyi (HUN) 20.5%
Catharina vd Sloot (NED) 13.7%
Gulia Gorlero (ITA) 4.5%
via swimmersdaily.com and mandiner.hu
photo: Anikó Kovács/MTI