World-leading Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic has come first in a vote organised by European news agencies to identify the best sportsmen and sportswomen of 2015. Hungary’s five-times world champion and Olympic champion swimmer Katinka Hosszú also holds a prominent position on the list.
In the vote conducted by the Polish news agency PAP, Djokovic, whose eleven victories at international tennis events this year included finishing first in the Australian, British and US open championships, won with a towering 199 points, 60 ahead of last year’s winner Lewis Hamilton, the British world champion Formula One pilot. Third on the list is Dutch female athlete and world champion runner Dafne Schippers, with a score of 79 points.
Similarly to the previous year, the list for 2015 also includes a single Hungarian sports ace, 26-year-old female swimming phenomenon Katinka Hosszú, who won two golds and a bronze medal at this year’s World Aquatics Championships. This year, she has been ranked ninth on the list, one position behind her place for 2014.
The vote was held with the participation of 22 European news agencies.
The ten best sportsmen and sportswomen of 2015, according to European news agencies:
1. Novak Djokovic (Serbian, tennis) 199 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (British, Formula-1) 139
3. Dafne Schippers (Dutch, athletics) 79
4. Pau Gasol (Spanish, basketball) 72
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese, football) 59
6. Mohamed Farah (British, athletics) 52
7. Anna Fenninger (Austrian, alpine skiing) 46
8. Marcel Hirscher (Austrian, alpine skiing) 43
9. Katinka Hosszú (swimming) 41
10. Marit Björgen (Norwegian, ski running) 34
via 24.hu
photo: Anikó Kovács/MTI