Mo Farah Named European Athlete Of The Year

Yet another honor is bestowed on Britain’s long-distance ace.

Written by: David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Britain’s Mo Farah, the double-medallist in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the recent World Championships in Daegu, has been voted European Athlete of The Year, European athletics reported Wednesday morning.

Farah, 28, had an exceptional season, winning the gold medal at 5000m and the silver at 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships last August.  He also won the European indoor title at 3000m, set a European record at 10,000m, British records at 5000m both indoors and outdoors, and won the NYC Half Marathon in his debut at the distance in the fastest-ever time by a Briton.

Fans, media and European Athletics Member Federations were invited to vote for the European Athlete of the Year on the European Athletics website. Along with the votes from a panel of experts, each group of voters’ results count for one quarter of the athlete’s final score.  Farah beat out French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre and British hurdler Dai Greene for the honor, who finished second and third, respectively, in the voting.

Russian 800m runner Mariya Savinova, the world champion, was named European Athlete of the Year on the women’s side yesterday.