Mária Érdi and Dominik Szoboszlai Athletes of the Year

The Hungarian Sports Journalists Association (MSÚSZ) chose Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool footballer and captain of the Hungarian national team, for men, and Mária Érdi, world champion sailor, for women, as the athlete of the year 2023 at the M4 Sport - Athlete of the Year gala.

The best of the year in traditional team sports - just like last year - was the men's football team, while the men's fencing team won in the category of individual sports team competitions. Among the coaches, Marco Rossi, the captain of the national football team, received the most votes, thus repeating his success last year.

The MSÚSZ Lifetime Achievement Award was received by Pál Schmitt, two-time Olympic champion duelist, Athlete of the Nation, former president of the Republic, honorary president of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, former member of the International Olympic Committee.

The winners of the 66th voting were announced at the M4 Sport Sportsman of the Year gala in the Opera House on Monday evening.

The MSÚSZ Lifetime Achievement Award was received by Pál Schmitt, two-time Olympic champion fencer, Athlete of the Nation, former President of the Republic, Honorary President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, former member of the International Olympic Committee, from the President of the Republic, Katalin Novák, and from Zsolt Gyulay, the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB). from the president. Those present recognized the awardee's life journey with a standing ovation.

A few minutes earlier, Áron Szilágyi, three-time Olympic gold medalist, world and European champion swordsman, was recognized for his sportsmanship at the World Cup in Budapest in March, for the action in which he spectacularly returned a blow to his opponent. Katalin Novák nominated the excellent fencer for the award at the International Fair Play Committee, and she also presented it with the president of the organization, Jenó Kamuti.

In her short speech, the President of the Republic Katalin Novák congratulated the award winners and the candidates.

"It was a pride to watch what quality sports moments there were in the year 2023, and I trust that tonight will inspire everyone to make 2024 the year of movement as well"

said the head of state.

Para-kayaking Péter Pál Kiss won the men's competition, defending his title, and Luca Ekler the para-athlete won the women's competition. In the team competition, the transplanted table tennis men's doubles came first.

The sporting moment of the year was Vogel Soma's "gold-winning" last five save, which he presented at the Hungary-Greece World Water Polo Championship final. The MSÚSZ awarded the Sports Moment of the Year for the fourth time, first the fans could vote for a list of ten on the m4sport.hu website, then the winner was selected from the short list of three already invited experts.

In the recreational sports event of the year category, there was a tie at the top, the prize went to the back lawn football rescue tour and the night of the ice rinks.

Among the prize-givers were, among others, Dániel Gyurta, Olympic champion swimmer, member of the International Olympic Committee's athletes committee; the Hungarian-Slovakian fitness competitor and trainer, Tímea Majorová; the Olympic and multiple world champion Javier Sotomayor, the Cuban world record holder in the high jump; Fabio Cannavaro, the world champion Italian footballer who won the Ballon d'Or; the referee, Abraham Klein, who was born in Timisoara, but who as an Israeli refereed at four soccer world championships; American Paralympic champion cyclist Joe Berényi, also of Hungarian origin; and Dániel Papp, CEO of MTVA. State Secretary for Sports Ádám Schmidt, duelist Emese Szász and Olympic water polo champion Rajmund Fodor, as well as Ádám Szalai, the former captain of the national football team, also presented awards.

MTI

Featured image: Dominik Szoboszlai national football team at the M4 Sport-Az Ev Sportolója Gala at the Hungarian State Opera House on January 8, 2024.
MTI/Robert Hegedüs