Rojas and Altuve Athletes of the Year 2022 in Venezuela
Yulimar Rojas (Photo by Getty Images)
CARACAS, December 29, 2022 - Yulimar Rojas and José Altuve are the Athletes of the Year in Venezuela, after categorically prevailing in the election process promoted every year by the Circle of Sports Journalists among its members.
The queen of the triple jump swept the poll with 61 votes for first place, 10 for second and two for third, for a total score of 690 points. The Athlete of the Year awards 10 points to each first-place ballot, 7 to second, 5 to third, 4 to fourth, and 3 to each fifth-place selection.
In another dream year, Yulimar Rojas set a new indoor triple jump record at the World Cup in Belgrade with a mark of 15.74 metres. In Eugene, she became the first woman to win three outdoor world titles, the last with a jump of 15.47. Rojas has won gold in the last three indoor and outdoor editions. To close an extraordinary year, she won her second Diamond League title.
With this latest award, Rojas surpassed big leaguer Miguel Cabrera in the list of the most Athlete of the Year Award won, now equaling Andrés Galarraga, with six wins in second place in the table headed by the "Hall of Famer", Luis Aparicio, with eight.
José Altuve, meanwhile, led the selection of professional athletes with 593 points, with 43 ballots for first place to win his fourth Athlete of the Year. In this line, he shared honors with the batting champion of the National League, Luis Arráez; and Kentucky Derby winner Sonny León. The "astroboy" was MLB champion with the Houston Astros, selected to the MLB 2022 first team, setting several records such as the most hits by a foreigner in the World Series, the Latino record for extra-base hits in the World Series and became the native with more World Series games, adding to his figures the more than 1800 hits in his career, fifth in the race for the AL MVP. He hit 300 average, hit 28 homers, 39 doubles, drove in 57 runs and scored 103 runs.
Some 80 sports journalists took part in the election for the Athlete of the Year awards. This is the 79th edition without interruption since 1944.
Baseball wins prizes for team sports
The National Women's Baseball Team that was titled champion of the qualifier and qualified for the Women's Baseball World Cup, a milestone in its history WBSC was chosen as Selection of the Year; while the champion of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, Navegantes del Magallanes, was chosen as the Professional Team of the Year, after their title in the 2021-2022 campaign.
Weightlifting crown another great year
Venezuelan weightlifting closed the year with Keydomar Vallenilla's brand new gold medal at the World Cup in Bogotá, as well as a great role in the events of the Olympic cycle. This earned Keydomar an outstanding second place in the selection for Amateur Athlete of the Year, but also allowed the discipline to be recognized by the press in the lines of Coach of the Year, in the person of Henrry Velásquez; Leader of the Year, the president of the Federation, Luis Seijas; and the Venezuelan Weightlifting Federation itself, designated once again as Sports Entity of the Year.
world-class referees
Apart from the annual selection that the CPD promotes among its members, the Board of Directors of the union has decided to honor the Venezuelan referees Jesús Valenzuela, Juan Soto, Tulio Moreno and Jorge Urrego with the CPD Special Award, for their outstanding role in the 2022 Qatar Soccer World Cup.
The queen of the triple jump swept the poll with 61 votes for first place, 10 for second and two for third, for a total score of 690 points. The Athlete of the Year awards 10 points to each first-place ballot, 7 to second, 5 to third, 4 to fourth, and 3 to each fifth-place selection.
In another dream year, Yulimar Rojas set a new indoor triple jump record at the World Cup in Belgrade with a mark of 15.74 metres. In Eugene, she became the first woman to win three outdoor world titles, the last with a jump of 15.47. Rojas has won gold in the last three indoor and outdoor editions. To close an extraordinary year, she won her second Diamond League title.
With this latest award, Rojas surpassed big leaguer Miguel Cabrera in the list of the most Athlete of the Year Award won, now equaling Andrés Galarraga, with six wins in second place in the table headed by the "Hall of Famer", Luis Aparicio, with eight.
José Altuve, meanwhile, led the selection of professional athletes with 593 points, with 43 ballots for first place to win his fourth Athlete of the Year. In this line, he shared honors with the batting champion of the National League, Luis Arráez; and Kentucky Derby winner Sonny León. The "astroboy" was MLB champion with the Houston Astros, selected to the MLB 2022 first team, setting several records such as the most hits by a foreigner in the World Series, the Latino record for extra-base hits in the World Series and became the native with more World Series games, adding to his figures the more than 1800 hits in his career, fifth in the race for the AL MVP. He hit 300 average, hit 28 homers, 39 doubles, drove in 57 runs and scored 103 runs.
Some 80 sports journalists took part in the election for the Athlete of the Year awards. This is the 79th edition without interruption since 1944.
Baseball wins prizes for team sports
The National Women's Baseball Team that was titled champion of the qualifier and qualified for the Women's Baseball World Cup, a milestone in its history WBSC was chosen as Selection of the Year; while the champion of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, Navegantes del Magallanes, was chosen as the Professional Team of the Year, after their title in the 2021-2022 campaign.
Weightlifting crown another great year
Venezuelan weightlifting closed the year with Keydomar Vallenilla's brand new gold medal at the World Cup in Bogotá, as well as a great role in the events of the Olympic cycle. This earned Keydomar an outstanding second place in the selection for Amateur Athlete of the Year, but also allowed the discipline to be recognized by the press in the lines of Coach of the Year, in the person of Henrry Velásquez; Leader of the Year, the president of the Federation, Luis Seijas; and the Venezuelan Weightlifting Federation itself, designated once again as Sports Entity of the Year.
world-class referees
Apart from the annual selection that the CPD promotes among its members, the Board of Directors of the union has decided to honor the Venezuelan referees Jesús Valenzuela, Juan Soto, Tulio Moreno and Jorge Urrego with the CPD Special Award, for their outstanding role in the 2022 Qatar Soccer World Cup.
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