During the NOC-NSF Sports Gala on Wednesday, cyclist Mathieu van der Poel and athlete Femke Bol were elected Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year. Van der Poel defeated Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen and cyclist Harrie Lavreysen, Bol won against rower Karolien Florijn and athlete Sifan Hassan. Last year, Verstappen and skater Irene Schouten were the winners.
Van der Poel took the world title in Glasgow this year, despite crashing just before the finish. This year, Bol won gold twice at the World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital Budapest: in the 400 meter hurdles and in the 4×400 meter relay.
During the election, top athletes could vote for individual athletes. Coaches could vote in the Sports Coach of the Year category. These votes counted for fifty percent. The vote of a professional jury also counted for fifty percent. They voted in all categories.
Sports team of the year
The women’s 4×400 meter relay team was once again named Sports Team of the Year. The team with Bol, Lieke Klaver, Cathelijn Peeters, Lisanne de Witte and Eveline Saalberg became world champions in Budapest last summer. Bol started her lap there as the last runner in third position. Nevertheless, she managed to overtake the Jamaican and British team with a phenomenal final sprint and won the title with a Dutch record. Never before have Dutch women won the world title.
The Jumbo-Visma cycling team, which won all three major tours, and the water polo women were the other nominees. The latter team won the world championship for the first time in 32 years.
Other winners
The Sports Coach of the Year award went to Eelco Meenhorst, who won five gold medals with the Dutch rowing team during the World Championships in Belgrade this year.
Joël de Jong won the prize for Parasportsman of the Year. The para-athlete won gold at the World Championships in the 100 meters and won bronze in the long jump. Wheelchair tennis player Diede de Groot won the women’s competition. As in 2021 and 2022, she won all four Grand Slam tournaments. De Groot already won the Parasporter of the Year award last year, when there were no separate categories for men and women.
This year, for the first time, a Parasport Team of the Year was chosen. It went to the wheelchair basketball players on Wednesday. They became world champions and European champions this year. 18-year-old athlete Niels Laros won the Sports Talent of the Year award.
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