PRAGUE, December 28, 2020 – Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak has been declared the Sportsperson of the Year in the Czech Republic on December 22 by the Czech Sports Journalists Association.
The 24-year-old Pastrnak, who alongside Alexander Ovechkin won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the 2019-20 National Hockey League season, became the fifth hockey player after Josef Mikolas (1961), Dominik Hasek (1994 and 1998) and Jaromir Jagr (2005) to triumph in the history of the Czech SJA poll.
The winners of the 62nd edition of the traditional and prestigious awards were announced via a festive television programme prepared at the Liben Sokol Gymnasium in Prague - with the participation of laureates and a very small group of guests - and broadcast on Czech Television. For the very first time, spectators did not take part in the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Snowboarder and alpine skier Ester Ledecka, who ranked second overall in downhill women in the 2019-20 Alpine Ski World Cup, finished second in the poll for the Sportsperson of the Year, while speed skating world champion Martina Sablikova settled for third place.
The award for the best team went to biathlon mixed relay team (Eva Puskarcikova, Marketa Davidova, Ondrej Moravec and Michal Krcmar), bronze medalists at the 2020 World Championships. They were tied on the same number of points as the national football team, which advanced to the elite group of the UEFA Nations League, however they had the most first-place votes (69:67).
Czech football legend Antonin Panenka, who fortunately won a dangerous battle against Covid-19, was inducted into the Legend Hall.
Special recognition also went to the winner of a newly established category for Devotion to Sport – 95 years old Zdenek Ruzicka, who is now oldest living Czechoslovakian Olympian. The two-time bronze medalist in artistic gymnastic at London 1948 is a symbol of fair play. He has dedicated more than six decades of his life to coaching and bringing young people to sport.
Top ten athletes
1. David PASTRNAK - ice hockey - 1253
2. Ester LEDECKA - alpine skiing+snowboarding - 1109
3. Martina SABLIKOVA – speedskating - 1051
4. Tomas SOUCEK – football - 994
5. Petra KVITOVÁ – tennis - 936
6. Ondrej PALAT - ice hockey - 915
7. Jiri PRSKAVEC - canoe slalom - 789
8. Tomas SATORANSKY – basketball - 686
9. Marketa DAVIDOVA – biathlon - 673
10. Tomas BABEK – cycling - 648
Top three teams
1. Biathlon Mixed Relay Team (Puskarcikova, Davidova, Moravec, Krcmar) - 336
2. Czech Republic National Football Team - 336
3. Czech Republic National Football Team U21 - 307
Legend Hall (Emil Zatopek Prize) - Antonin PANENKA (football)
Devotion to Sport (new category) - Zdenek RUZICKA (artistic gymnastic)
