The Hungarian Sports Journalists’ Association (MSÚSZ) has voted Dominik Szoboszlai, the captain of the Hungarian National Football Team and Liverpool player, as the Men’s Athlete of the Year. Meanwhile, Mária Érdi, the world champion sailor, received the honour in the Women’s category for the year 2023.
In team sports,
the Men’s National Football Team secured the title of the best team in traditional team sports for the second consecutive year.
The Men’s Sabre Fencing Team emerged victorious in the category of team competitions in individual sports. Marco Rossi, the head coach of the Men’s National Football Team, garnered the highest number of votes among coaches, defending his title from the previous year.
The winners of the 66th edition of the award show were announced live on air on M4 Sport, at the ceremonial Athletes of the Year Awards show at the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest on Monday evening. The rankings were based on a record-breaking 471 votes cast, surpassing the previous peak of 439 in 2019.
The MSÚSZ Lifetime Achievement Award was granted to Pál Schmitt, a two-time Olympic champion épée fencer, former President of Hungary, and honorary president of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. It was presented by the President of Hungary, Katalin Novák, and Zsolt Gyulay, the president of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. The audience commended the awardee’s life journey with applause.
Shortly before, Áron Szilágyi, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and world champion sabre fencer, received recognition for his sportsmanship demonstrated during the March World Cup in Budapest. The acknowledgement was for a remarkable action where he visibly returned a touch to his opponent. The award was presented by Katalin Novák to the exceptional fencer, who was also accompanied by Jenő Kamuti, the president of the International Fair Play Committee.
In her brief speech,
President Novák congratulated the awardees and nominees, expressing pride in witnessing the high-quality sports performances of 2023.
She expressed hope that the evening would inspire everyone to have an active 2024.
In the competition among disabled athletes, Peter Pál Kiss, a paracanoeist, defended his title among men, while Luca Ekler, a para-athlete, claimed the victory among women. The first place in the team competition went to the male pair in transplant table tennis.
The Sports Moment of the Year was awarded to Soma Vogel for his ‘priceless’ fifth save in the shootout in the Hungary-Greece water polo World Championship final. This marked the fourth time the MSÚSZ recognized the Sports Moment of the Year. The selection process involved fan voting on the M4 Sport website, followed by the final choice made by appointed expert judges from a narrowed-down list of three.
The State Secretary for Sports, Ádám Schmidt, also presented awards, along with Olympic champion fencer Emese Szász, water polo player Rajmund Fodor, and Ádám Szalai, former captain of the National Football Team.
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Source: Hungarian Conservative/MSÚSZ/MTI
