Roman Sebrle jumps in Munich (© allsport)
PragueThe King of the Decathlon and one of the nominees for the IAF Athlete of the Year, Roman Sebrle, was unanimously voted Czech athlete of the year for 2002 last weekend. From all 80 voters he got the number one spot nomination, and so he achieved the maximum score of 800 points.
The annual celebration held in Prague´s Narodni Dum (National House) building was transmitted live on Saturday evening at 8pm on the main public TV channel CT 1, showing how popular athletics is in Czech Republic.
"This year was really perfect for me. Not only in sports, but also in my private life. I won both European titles, got three highest Decathlon scores of the year. Then my son Stepan was born and I managed to be second in Talence afterwards. I hope this was pardoned by my fans! My wife Eva, coach Dalibor Kupka (he was also voted coach of the year) and the management around me helped me to achieve this.”
“Of course I'm not taking polls too seriously, but this win was to be expected. Now I'm already looking towards new challenges. The indoor season with World Championships and even the World indoor record in my mind. Then for the outdoors and the World Championships, I have never won this event."
Sebrle was second in the 2000 poll and third last year despite his historic Decathlon mark of 9026 points. The two colleagues who bettered him last year, had not the best seasons in 2001 and so Tomas Dvorak ended 5th (2nd at European Indoor Championships but did not finish at the outdoor championships) and Jan Zelezny was voted 9th (bothered by a rib injury).
Second was the 400m Hurdles specialist Jiri Muzik, who won the silver medal at the European Championships (and is also coached by Dalibor Kupka).
Third place went to Discus thrower Vera Pospisilova. For her, the year 2002 marked a breakthrough into the world elite. She won GP meets, was 4th in Munich and finally second at IAAF Grand Prix Final in Paris. She is the second best Czech athlete in the IAAF Rankings (third in Discus) behind Sebrle who is the Decathlon leader.
The 1999 World Outdoor and Indoor 800m champion Ludmila Formanova was happy with her 4th position in the poll, as she returned successfully to the world of athletics in 2002 after injuries and surgery.
Junior honours and newcomer of the year went to long jumper Petr Lampart who is leading the 2002 World junior lists with 8.18m and was the winner at Military World Championships in Italy.
Results of the poll:
1. Roman Sebrle (Decathlon) 800 points, 2. Jiri Muzik (400m Hurdles) 716, 3. Vera Pospisilova (Discus) 565, 4. Ludmila Formanova (800m) 487, 5. Tomas Dvorak (Decathlon) 475, 6. Tomas Janku (High Jump) 361, 7. Stepan Janacek (Pole Vault) 303, 8. Adam Ptacek (Pole Vault) 291, 9. Jan Zelezny (Javelin) 103, 10. Stepan Tesarik (400 m Hurdles) 101.
Junior of the Year:1. Petr Lampart (Long Jump) 38, 2. Jaroslav Baba (High Jump) and Zuzana Hejnova (400 m Hurdles) 20.
Newcomer of the Year: 1. Petr Lampart (Long Jump) 41.
Coach of the Year:1. Dalibor Kupka (Sebrle, Muzik, Tesarik) 74, 2. Boleslav Patera (Janacek, Ptacek) 4.
Alfons Juck for the IAAF
