Taybe Yusein - Sportsperson No.1 in Bulgaria for 2018 Supported by Vasil Bojkov |
Posted: January 4, 2019 |
The big sports family in Bulgaria, renowned journalists, sponsors, and social figures gathered together for the 61st edition of the most anticipated sports event in the country – The “Sportsperson of the Year” Awards. Marking yet another year full of great achievements by our athletes in different categories, the official ceremony was held on the 20th of December, 2018 in the Arena Armeec hall, Sofia. Over 139 active Bulgarian sports journalists from 49 different electronic and print media gave their vote in order to define the winners in this year’s ranking. The main categories included athlete of the year, athlete with disabilities, team of the year, as well as the traditional “coach of the year award”, given by “Trud” newspaper. For the first time there was no female presence among the hosts of the ceremony - the stage was taken by two of the most popular voices in Bulgaria - the radio and TV host Mitko Pavlov and the charming Bulgarian singer and actor Orlin Pavlov. Nonetheless, as it accidentally appeared to be, women dominated the 10th best athletes chart as if compensating this absence of female presence in the first place. In this regard, the first place in the category "Athlete of the Year" 2018 was won by the 27-tear-old World and European wrestling champion Tybe Usain. She gained 1221 points in the poll, leaving behind her Mirela Demireva and Aleksandra Nacheva. The honorary statuette was presented to Usain by the four-time winner of the very same title, Olympic champion, and world record holder Stefka Kostadinova. The past 2018 was really successful for the Bulgarian female wrestler in the 62 kg category. She had zero defeats on the mat and many other awards. Back in May, for example, she became European champion of the championship in Kaspiysk (Russia). Later on, in October, just on her 27th birthday, Usain triumphed in Budapest, scooping a gold medal at the World Cup there. She also became world women’s champion in Budapest, 2018, and a winner of another annual award - the Sports Icarus. Up until now, her career is marked with several medals - a total of 18 medals (3 gold, 5 silver, and 10 bronze) won at world and European championships for cadets, girls, and women. During the official ceremony, the winner of the first place in the “Athlete of the Year” category pointed out the following; “It is a great pleasure, honor and privilege to receive this prize by Stefka Kostadinova and I hope it will be a good thing for me. Thank you all who supported me and helped me pursue my goals. Me and my colleagues here are the proof that dreams come true with much faith and persistence."
In the category "Team of the Year" the National Rhythmic Gymnastics Ensemble was elected. They became world champion of the world championship in Sofia back in September. All the success throughout 2018 helped the national rhythmic gymnastics team win the prize for a second consecutive year. Furthermore, the coach of Tybe Usain - Petar Kasabov was named "Coach of the Year" in the traditional “Trud” newspaper poll and award. Sports talent of Eurofootball of the year became the young weightlifter Hristo Hristov. All in all, the 10 of the Athlete of the Year are: 1. Tybe Usain 2. Mirela Demireva 3. Alexandra Nacheva 4. Bilyana Dudova 5. Stojka Petrova 6. Kubrat Pulev 7. Gabriela and Stephanie Stoevi 8. Kiril Milov 9. Katherine Taseva 10. Alexandra Zhekova
The “Sportsperson of the Year” Awards have been around since 1958 and were originally established by the Naroden Sport newspaper. Since 1994, though Vasil Bojkov, the great Bulgarian businessman, antique collector, and supporter of the sport in Bulgaria, took the rights to the Awards. For the last 20 years, he has been one of the most important patrons of Bulgarian sport, with his companies supporting a great number of young talents, elite athletes, and sports organizations.
|
||||||||||||||||
|