19 September 2014

After a record-breaking European Championships in August, 9 British athletes have been nominated for the European Athletics Golden Tracks awards to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 11 October.
  
Three GB & NI athletes are shortlisted for the male European Athlete of the year award after winning outstanding gold medals at the European Championships in August.
 
Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar) became the double European champion over 5000m and 10,000m for the second time after achieving the feat in Barcelona in 2010. After injury and illness this year, Farah marked a return to competition in style by winning double gold in Zurich.
 
Martyn Rooney (Rana Reider) won his first ever 400m title at the European Championships in Zurich, and added further silverware to his collection when he anchored the British team to the 4x400m relay gold on the final day of the championships.

The third Brit on the shortlist is Greg Rutherford (Jonas Taiwah-Dodoo) who claimed his first European title in Zurich. After adding the Commonwealth title to his Olympic title from 2012, the achievements in Switzerland topped off a successful 2014 for the British record holder.

Eilidh Child (coach: Malcolm Arnold) is the only British athlete nominated for the female European Athlete of the year award after one of her most consistent seasons to date. She became European 400m Hurdles champion in August for the first time. She also completed the season by finishing in the top three of every race she participated in during 2014.

In addition to the European athlete of the year awards, the Golden Tracks ceremony will see the male and female Rising Star awards handed out, and GB & NI have five contenders for these awards after a successful 2014.

Adam Gemili (Steve Fudge) leads the male nominations for the award after winning his first senior European title in Zurich over 200m with a European Leading time of 19.98. After silver in the Commonwealth 100m earlier in the summer, the 20 year old is starting to make a successful transition to the senior ranks.

Matthew Hudson-Smith (Tony Hadley) burst into the public eye at the Glasgow Grand Prix earlier this summer but after winning a silver medal in the 400m at the European Championships, the Birchfield Harrier is proving his credentials at senior level. He also set a new personal best in that final of 44.75. Additionally he was part of the victorious 4x400m relay quartet for Great Britain & Northern Ireland which earned the 19 year old further plaudits in his breakthrough season.

The candidates for the Female Rising Star award are of high quality, and that is only amongst the British nominees.
 
Morgan Lake (Eldon Lake) has had a golden summer, winning the Heptathlon and High Jump titles at the World Junior Championships in Eugene. Later, she won her first senior call-up to the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team in the high jump at the European Championships, at the age of 17.

Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie) won the world junior 100m title in Eugene and backed this up with a call-up to the European Championships where she set a new personal best along the way – 22.61 in the semi-final. Injury prevented her from completing the 200m final but it has been a successful season for the young British sprinter.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Mike Holmes) enjoyed a fantastic first half of the year before injury sadly ended her chances of competing at the major championships this summer. She set an indoor British record in the high jump at the Sainsbury’s Indoor British Championships in February of 1.96m, and added lifetime bests in the long jump at the Sainsbury’s Glasgow Grand Prix in July, with a jump of 6.92m.

The list of nominations have been compiled by a panel of judges and the winners will be decided by counting votes from the fans, media, European Athletics Member Federations as well as an expert European Athletics panel, with the results from each group of voters counting for one quarter of the athlete’s final score.
 
Fans can vote through the European Athletics Facebook page so click here to vote now. Online voting closes on Friday 3 October.