Sportsperson of the Year (Czechoslovakia)


Sportsperson of the Year was a prize awarded annually to the best athletes of Czechoslovakia from 1959 to 1992 by the Club of Czechoslovak Sports Journalists. The first winner was white-water canoer Vladimír Jirásek. From 1961 the prize was also given to the best sports team; the first team recipient was the Czechoslovakia national ice hockey team. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the prize has continued in both successor countries as the Sportsperson of the Year of the Czech Republic and the Sportsperson of the Year of Slovakia.
The individual prize was usually awarded to a single sportsperson, but on two occasions, two people received it – Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman in 1962, and the Pospíšil brothers in 1979. The prize was given to 28 different athletes, 22 men and 6 women, in 23 sports disciplines. Gymnast Věra Čáslavská won the prize four times, the most of any sportsperson. She was also the only one to have received it in three consecutive years. Six people were awarded the prize more than once.
The team prize was won by teams in 12 sport disciplines; all winners but one were national teams. The only time members of a sports club team were awarded the Sportsperson of the Year was the Dukla Prague handball team, in 1963. Ice hockey teams were given the award six times – most of all disciplines. Ice hockey goaltender Josef Mikoláš and cross-country skier Květa Jeriová were the only people who won both the individual and the team prize. Men's teams received the prize 20 times, and women's teams won it 3 times. From 1970 to 1977, and in 1979, the team prize was not awarded. The team award was won back to back twice, by the men's national ice hockey team in 1968 and 1969, and by the men's national ski-relay team in 1988 and 1989.

Individual awards

YearNameSportAchievements in the given year
1959×C1 whitewater slalomWorld Championships in Geneva, Switzerland – 1st
1960+Artistic gymnasticsSummer Olympics in Rome, Italy, balance beam – 1st, team – 2nd
1961×Ice hockey World Championships in Geneva, Switzerland, team – 2nd
1962
Pavel Roman~		Ice dancingWorld Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 1st
European Championships in Geneva, Switzerland – 3rd
1963×RowingEuropean Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, single scull – 1st
1964+Artistic gymnasticsSummer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, all-round – 1st, balance beam – 1st, vault – 1st, team – 2nd
1965×Discus throwWorld record of in Sokolov, Czechoslovakia
1966+Artistic gymnasticsWorld Championships in Dortmund, West Germany, team – 1st, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, balance beam – 2nd, floor exercise – 2nd
1967+Artistic gymnasticsEuropean Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, uneven bars – 1st, balance beam – 1st, floor exercise – 1st
1968+Artistic gymnasticsSummer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, all-round – 1st, vault – 1st, uneven bars – 1st, balance beam – 2nd, team – 2nd
1969+High jumpEuropean Championships in Athens, Greece – 1st
1970×Nordic combinedWorld Championships in Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia – 1st
1971×Figure skatingWorld Championships in Lyon, France – 1st
European Championships in Zürich – 1st
1972×Discus throwSummer Olympics in Munich, West Germany – 1st
1973×TennisWimbledon Championships – 1st
US Open – 2nd
1974×Greco-Roman wrestlingWorld Championships in Katowice, Poland, 74 kg weight class – 1st
European Championships in Madrid, Spain, 74 kg weight class – 2nd
1975×Ski jumpingSki flying World Championships in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria – 1st
1976×Track cyclingSummer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, sprint – 1st
1977×Greco-Roman wrestlingWorld Championships in Göteborg, Sweden, 74 kg weight class – 1st
1978×Track cyclingWorld Championships in Munich, West Germany, sprint for amateurs – 1st
1979Pospíšil brothers×Cycle ballWorld Indoor Cycling Championships in Schiltigheim, France – 1st
1980×Weightlifting1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union, 100 kg weight class – 1st
1981+Athletics – track disciplinesEuropean Indoor Championships in Grenoble, France, 400 m – 1st
1982×Discus throwEuropean Athletics Championships in Athens, Greece – 1st
1983+Athletics – track disciplinesWorld Championships in Helsinki, Finland, 400 m – 1st, 800 m – 1st, 4 × 400 m relay – 2nd
European Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, 400 m – 1st
800m world record of 1:53.28 in Munich, West Germany
1984+Cross-country skiingWinter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, 5 km – 3rd, 4 x 5 km relay – 2nd
1985×AerobaticsEuropean Championships – 1st
1986×RacewalkingEuropean Championships in Stuttgart, West Germany – 1st
1987×Ski jumpingWorld Championships in Oberstdorf, West Germany – 1st
1988×RacewalkingSummer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea – 1st
1989×K-1 canoe sprintWorld Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, K-1 10000 m – 1st
1990×Freestyle wrestlingWorld Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 82 kg weight class – 1st
1991×Cyclo-crossWorld Championships in Gieten, Netherlands – 1st
1992×DecathlonSummer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain – 1st

Team awards