Sportske novosti awards

Sportske novosti awards (Croatian: Nagrade Sportskih novosti) refer to annual sports awards given by Sportske novosti, a Zagreb-based Croatian daily sports newspaper. The awards originated in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most prestigious Croatian awards in sports. The winners are decided by polling sports journalists.^[1]

History

Sportske novosti was founded in 1945 and it first began awarding the Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year and Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year awards in 1950 for greatest achievements in Yugoslav sports. The award, one of several Yugoslav national-level sporting awards, was given every year between 1950 and 1990, when it was discontinued due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

In 1952 the newspaper launched a parallel award for Croatian athletes which honored best sporting achievements by athletes hailing from SR Croatia (1952–90). Following Croatia's independence, the Yugoslav competition was discontinued, while the Croatian category was kept to the present day. In 1966 a separate category was introduced honoring best Yugoslav sports team, and in 1973 the award was split into separate categories for men's and women's team sports.

Since inception, all awards are selected through a poll of sports journalists from around the country who are members of the Croatian Association of Sports Journalists (Hrvatski zbor sportskih novinara), the national professional association for sports writers established in 1949.

Award winners in all categories are collectively referred to as the "Golden Roll" (Zlatna lista), and the winners are usually announced in early January for the preceding year. It is considered one of the two most prestigious sporting awards in Croatia, on par with the annual awards handed out by the Croatian Olympic Committee.

Among men, winners with most individual awards won include table tennis player Dragutin Šurbek, tennis star Goran Ivanišević, and skier Ivica Kostelić, with five awards each. As for women, the record holder is discus thrower Sandra Perković with nine wins, followed by skier Janica Kostelić with eight, and high jumper Blanka Vlašić with six awards.

Athlete of the Year

Yugoslav competition (1950–1990)

   Athlete also won the Croatian Sportsperson of the Year award.

Croatian competition (1952–present)

Sportsman of the Year

Tennis player Goran Ivanišević, winner of the award in 1992-1994, 1996 and 2000

Željko Mavrović, winner of the award in 1995 and 1997

Tennis player Ivan Ljubičić, who won the award in 2005 and 2006

Ivano Balić, who won the award in 2007

Alpine skier Ivica Kostelić, six times award winner

Sportswoman of the Year

Iva Majoli, who won four consecutive awards (1994–1997)

Janica Kostelić, who holds the record for most wins with eight awards won (1998–2003 and 2005–2006)

Blanka Vlašić, who won the award six times in 2004 and 2007–2011

Sandra Perković, who won nine awards in 2012-2019 and 2022

By sport

This table lists the total number of awards for individual sportsmen and sportswomen by recipients' sporting profession.

Team of the Year

1966–1990

1990–present

See also

• Golden Badge - Award for Yugoslav (and later Serbian) Athlete of the Year, awarded by the Belgrade-based sports daily Sport since 1957.

References

• Award winners (in Croatian)

1. "59. Izbor Sportskih novosti - Blanka i Ivica bez premca". Večernji list (in Croatian). 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2011-03-19. Rezultat je to ankete Sportskih novosti u kojoj laureate tradicionalno biraju sportski novinari.