Slovenian sports journalists have chosen: these are the best athletes of 2022

Justification of the Sportswoman of the Year award: URŠA BOGATAJ

Urša Bogataj was the first name in women’s ski jumping at the Olympic Games in Beijing. In the individual match, she managed to do something that she had never done before in the World Cup – win a singles match. But on the biggest stage, she was simply unbeatable. Second after the first series, she jumped to the gold medal with a brilliant second performance. She added another one in the mixed team event, returning from the Olympics with two gold medals. With a huge dose of self-confidence, she also recorded three more individual victories in the World Cup by the end of the season, and was in third place in the overall season total. The appearance at the Olympic Games remains the highlight of the season, a gift for fighting back from injury and a tribute to the psychological fortitude she showed in the competition under five rounds.

Justification of the Sportsman of the Year award: KRISTJAN ČEH

It would be difficult for Kristjan Čech to dominate the discus throw even more in 2022. He appeared in 21 matches and registered as many as 19 victories. When he didn’t win, he was once second and once third. There are quite a few outstanding achievements, the first of which is certainly the title of world champion. Thus, on July 19 in Eugene, United States, he won with a championship record of 71.13 meters. His national record is another 13 centimeters better, achieved at the Diamond League meet in Birmingham in May. He was also the winner of the season in this competition. To all of the above we can add a silver medal at the European Championship. And if we know that this is his second worst result this season, then it is clear that Kristjan Čech was on a completely different level than his competitors this year. As he is still an athletic young man at 23, the goal of setting a world record in the discus throw does not seem excessive at all.

Reasoning for the team of the year award: MIXED SKI JUMPING TEAM (Nika Križnar, Urša Bogataj, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc)

There was only one thing to worry about in the mixed team ski jumping event at the Olympics – that any of the Slovenians would be disqualified due to incorrect equipment. This was the only possibility that the Slovenians would not win convincingly. So we were looking towards the room where the equipment was being checked, rather than at the ski jump. Many teams were punished, but not the Slovenian team. She did her job perfectly. In the end, she beat her closest rivals by more than 110 points. Urša Bogataj is as confident as in an individual match, Nika Križnar continues to be in great shape, Timi Zajc is a touch of youth on the men’s side and Peter Prevc, the most experienced man, is the true captain of the team. An excellent combination for another Slovenian jumping surplus last winter and for a big win.

Justification of the award for the promising sports personality of the year: PIA BABNIK

Pia Babnik drew attention to herself in 2022 with a brilliant performance at the first major tournament of this season. She finished third at the Chevron Championship in California, USA. This is worth as much in golf as the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tennis tournament. In the world ranking, she was ranked 41st. She is decisively setting golf milestones in our country, becoming the first Slovenian woman to play in all five major tournaments in one year. On the women’s European tour, she achieves consistent results among the top twenty. The prestigious golf magazine Golf Digest declared her the best in the world at the age of 18. A young woman who really promises a lot, but is already achieving top results.

At least partly, it was our another gold medal at the OI in Beijing, and in the Norwegian showcases. Slovenian biathlete Polona Klemenčič noticed that Marte Olsbu Rejseland lost part of the measuring device of her rifle before the race. She pointed this out to physiotherapist Ula Hafner, who took it to the Norwegians, who later placed it on the carpet for their competitor. At the shooting position, Rejselandova spent quite a bit of time re-positioning herself, but in the end she was the best with just one correction.

The order of voting for athlete of the year 2022:

– athlete of the year:

1. Kristjan Čech 174 points

2. Tadej Pogačar 141

3. Žan Kranjec 119

4. Luka Dončić 93

5. Tim Gajser 60

6. Tim Mastnak 23

7. Darko Jorgić 19

8. Benjamin Savšek 11

9. Luka Potočar 6

10. Toni Vodisek 5

11. Josip Iličič 3

– sportswoman of the year:

1. Urša Bogataj 231

2. Janja Garnbret 219

3. Nika Križnar 85

4. Gloria Kotnik 59

5. Tina Šutej 32

6. Anja Osterman 20

7. Ema Kozin 4

8. Buckwheat Novak 1

. Ekaterina Vedenejeva 1

. Anka Pogačnik 1

. Pia Babnik 1

– team of the year:

1. ski jumping 61

(mixed ski jumping team: Nika Križnar, Urša Bogataj, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc)

2. volleyball 40

(men’s volleyball team of Slovenia)

3. ski jumping 7

(men’s ski jumping team: Peter Prevc, Cene Prevc, Timi Zajc, Lovro Kos)

4. kayak canoe 1

(men’s whitewater slalom team in a canoe: Benjamin Savšek, Luka Božič, Anže Berčič)

– fair play:

Polona Klemenčič and Ula Hafner

– the most promising young sports personality:

Pia Babnik

– DŠNS recognition

Bogdan Gabrovec