PRAGUE, December 24, 2021 - On the late evening of Wednesday, December 22nd, the Czech Sports Journalists Association announced the winners of the 63rd edition of its traditional and prestigious award, which began in 1959.
There was a limited number of guests at the event due to health measures. The event, which was held at the Prague Hilton Hotel, was transmitted on Czech Television. The best sportspersons of the year 2021 were voted by members of the Czech Republic Sports Journalists Association. Traditionally there is no gender grouping. In the first vote, the SJA members selected Top 10 of individuals and Top 3 of teams and in the second vote defined final positions. This has been the Czech Republic's most prestigious sport award for more than sixty years.
This year the winner is Olympic Champion from Tokyo in the heavyweight category, judoka Lukas Krpalek. It is the third time Krpalek is winning the award (previously 2016 and 2019). The second place went to Barbora Krejcikova – winner of 2021 Roland Garros in both singles and doubles categories and together with Katerina Siniakova also this year's Olympic Champion and the Champions tournament and also together with Rajeev Ram she celebrated mixed double title at the Australian Open 2021.
The Sportsperson of the Year competition rules also allowed that Krejcikova and Siniakova, together, could be voted for by journalists and they finished in fifth place. Barbora Krejcikova lost the overall title but she is for sure the Sportswoman of the Year in Czech Republic. In third position is another Tokyo Olympic Champion Jiri Prskavec, who took Olympic gold in K1 canoe slalom category.
The team category was won by the men's basketball national team which qualified for the Olympic tournament after 41 years, second place went to the men's football national team, quarterfinalists at EURO 2020.
To the Legend Hall was listed Vitezslav Macha, great Olympic Champion, World and European Champion in greco-roman wrestling from the seventies and two-time winner of this award: 1974 and 1977.
Best Athletes
1. Lukas KRPALEK - judo - 1720
2. Barbora KREJCIKOVA - tennis - 1518
3. Jirí PRSKAVEC - canoe slalom - 1411
4. Jirí LIPTAK - shooting - 1168
5. Barbora KREJCIKOVÁ+Katerina SINIAKOVA - tennis - 1100
6. Marketa DAVIDOVA - biathlon - 930
7. Patrik SCHICK - football - 814
8. David KOSTELECKY - shooting - 813
9. Jakub VADLEJCH - athletics - 671
10. Ester LEDECKA - alpine skiing+snowboarding - 660
Best Teams :
1. Czech Republic National Basketball Team Men - 497
2. Czech Republic National Football Team - 348
3. Czech Republic National Ice Hockey Team Women - 335
Legend Hall (Emil Zatopek Prize) - each year one legend of Czech sport history is introduced - Vitezslav MACHA (wrestling– Olympic Champion Munich 1972, silver Montreal 1976, World Champion 1974+1977, European Champion 1977 all greco-roman -74 kg)
