Sportsperson of the Year (, ) was a prize awarded annually to the best athletes of Czechoslovakia from 1959 to 1992 by the Club of Czechoslovak Sports Journalists. The first winner was white-water canoer Vladimír Jirásek. From 1961 the prize was also given to the best sports team; the first team recipient was the Czechoslovakia national ice hockey team. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the prize has continued in both successor countries as the Sportsperson of the Year of the Czech Republic and the Sportsperson of the Year of Slovakia.
The individual prize was usually awarded to a single sportsperson, but on two occasions, two people received it – Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman (ice dancers) in 1962, and the Pospíšil brothers (cycle-ball players) in 1979. The prize was given to 28 different athletes, 22 men and 6 women, in 23 sports disciplines. Gymnast Věra Čáslavská won the prize four times, the most of any sportsperson.She was also the sole recipient to have received it in three consecutive years (from 1966 to 1968). Six individuals were awarded the prize more than once.
The team prize was won by teams in 12 sport disciplines; all winners but one were national teams. The only time members of a sports club team were awarded the Sportsperson of the Year was the Dukla Prague handball team, in 1963. Ice hockey teams were given the award six times – most of all disciplines. Ice hockey goaltender Josef Mikoláš and cross-country skier Květa Jeriová were the only people who won both the individual and the team prize (Mikoláš as a member of the Czechoslovakia national ice hockey team at 1961 World Championships and Jeriová as a member of ski relay at the 1984 Winter Olympics). Men's teams received the prize 20 times, and women's teams won it 3 times. From 1970 to 1977, and in 1979, the team prize was not awarded. The team award was won back to back twice, by the men's national ice hockey team in 1968 and 1969, and by the men's national ski-relay team in 1988 and 1989.
Individual awards
× Sportsmen
+ Sportswomen
~ Mixed pair
Year Name Sport Achievements in the given year 1959 × C1 whitewater slalom World Championships in Geneva, Switzerland – 1st 1960 + Artistic gymnastics Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, balance beam – 1st, team – 2nd 1961 × Ice hockey (goaltender) World Championships in Geneva, Switzerland, team – 2nd 1962 Pavel Roman~ Ice dancing World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 1st European Championships in Geneva, Switzerland – 3rd 1963 × Rowing European Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, single scull – 1st 1964 + Artistic gymnastics Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, all-round – 1st, balance beam – 1st, vault – 1st, team – 2nd 1965 × Discus throw World record of in Sokolov, Czechoslovakia 1966 + Artistic gymnastics World Championships in Dortmund, West Germany, team – 1st, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, balance beam – 2nd, floor exercise – 2nd 1967 + Artistic gymnastics European Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, uneven bars – 1st, balance beam – 1st, floor exercise – 1st 1968 + Artistic gymnastics Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, uneven bars – 1st, balance beam – 2nd, team – 2nd 1969 + High jump European Championships in Athens, Greece – 1st 1970 × Nordic combined World Championships in Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia – 1st 1971 × Figure skating World Championships in Lyon, France – 1st European Championships in Zürich – 1st 1972 × Discus throw Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany – 1st 1973 × Tennis Wimbledon Championships – 1st US Open – 2nd 1974 × Greco-Roman wrestling World Championships in Katowice, Poland, 74 kg weight class – 1st European Championships in Madrid, Spain, 74 kg weight class – 2nd 1975 × Ski jumping Ski flying World Championships in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria – 1st 1976 × Track cycling Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, sprint – 1st 1977 × Greco-Roman wrestling World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, 74 kg weight class – 1st 1978 × Track cycling World Championships in Munich, West Germany, sprint for amateurs – 1st 1979 Pospíšil brothers× Cycle ball World Indoor Cycling Championships in Schiltigheim, France – 1st 1980 × Weightlifting 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union, 100 kg weight class – 1st 1981 + Athletics – track disciplines European Indoor Championships in Grenoble, France, 400 m – 1st 1982 × Discus throw European Athletics Championships in Athens, Greece – 1st 1983 + Athletics – track disciplines World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, 400 m – 1st (world record of 47.99), 800 m – 1st, 4 × 400 m relay – 2nd European Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, 400 m – 1st800m world record of 1:53.28 in Munich, West Germany 1984 + Cross-country skiing Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, 5 km – 3rd, 4 x 5 km relay – 2nd 1985 × Aerobatics European Championships – 1st 1986 × Racewalking European Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany – 1st 1987 × Ski jumping World Championships in Oberstdorf, West Germany – 1st 1988 × Racewalking Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea – 1st 1989 × K-1 canoe sprint World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, K-1 10000 m – 1st 1990 × Freestyle wrestling World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 82 kg weight class – 1st 1991 × Cyclo-cross World Championships in Gieten, Netherlands – 1st 1992 × Decathlon Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain – 1st
Team awards Year Team Achievements in the given year 1961 × World Championships in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland – 2nd 1962 × World Cup in Chile – 2nd 1963 × European Champions Cup – 1st 1964 × Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan – 3rd 1965 × World Championships in Tampere, Finland – 2nd 1966 × World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 1st 1967 × World Championships in Sweden – 1st 1968 × Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France – 2nd 1969 × World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden – 3rd 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 × International Six Days Enduro in Värnamo, Sweden – 1st 1979 1980 × Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union – 1st 1981 × World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, team time trial – 3rd 1982 × International Six Days Enduro in Považská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia – 1stHusák, 182–186.Wohlmuth, 454. 1983 + Fed Cup – 1st 1984 + Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia – 2nd 1985 × 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 1st 1986 × World Championships in Colorado Springs, United States, 4000 m team pursuit – 1st 1987 + European Championships in Belgium – 3rd 1988 × Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada – 3rd 1989 × World Championships in Lahti, Finland – 3rd 1990 × World Cup in Italy – quarterfinals 1991 × World Championships in Chiba, Japan – 3rd 1992 × Winter Olympics in Albertville, France – 3rd World Championships in Czechoslovakia – 3rd
See also Sportsperson of the Year (Czech Republic) Sportsperson of the Year (Slovakia)
References
cs:Sportovec roku