Thanks to European Championship title

Javelin thrower Hudson is Sportswoman of the Year!

Victoria Hudson

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Javelin thrower Victoria Hudson has been awarded "Sportswoman of the Year" 2024 in Austria for her European Championship title in Rome!

In the voting for the NIKI carried out by the sports journalists' association Sports Media Austria (SMA), she came out on top with 676 points ahead of skiing ace Cornelia Hütter (652) and climber Jessica Pilz (562).

Athlete Hudson was awarded 56 first places - Hütter, who won the downhill globe at the World Cup final in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in March, with 46 and Olympic bronze medallist Pilz with 30. This is the first award of this kind for Hudson, who follows ski jumper Eva Pinkelnig. The last female athlete to win the award was all-around competitor Ivona Dadic in Austria in 2020.

Victoria Hudson

(Bild: Thomas Windestam)

Great moment in domestic athletics
No question: this year, javelin thrower Hudson made her breakthrough on the big stage. Unimpressed by back problems and illness, she improved the ÖLV record she held with 66.06 m in Eisenstadt on May 22. As Europe's best athlete of the year and the top favorite, she kept her nerve in the Olympic Stadium in Rome on June 11th and ensured a great moment for Austrian athletics by winning gold at the European Championships.

It was the first ÖLV gold at a European Championships since Ilona Gusenbauer in the high jump in Helsinki in 1971, and the third overall. She may be the best of the year in Europe, but that's paper form and not real life, Hudson said after the coup, overjoyed but still in disbelief.

"Life is not about being good at the Olympics!"
Despite being in top form, things can turn out differently, as she found out in Paris in midsummer at the Olympic Games. In 20th place in qualifying, Hudson missed out on a place in the final of the top twelve. "My life is not about doing well at the Olympics. Of course that's the goal, but if I don't, I'm not half a person, I'm still a whole person," she tried to console herself.

Fourth place at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels in mid-September was a conciliatory end to the season for Hudson. The 28-year-old is still ranked fourth in the annual world best list.

"Perfect environment for medals in the future!"
The daughter of an Englishman who moved to Austria and with whom she played a lot of cricket in her younger years has been training with Elisabeth Eberl since 2016. The pair had previously been coached by Gregor Högler, the former javelin thrower and World Championship runner-up in Athens 1997. After Eberl retired, Högler added Hudson to the team he had built around discus throw record holder Lukas Weißhaidinger at the start of 2023 due to a lack of other options.

Victoria Hudson

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Even when Vicky was little, I used to go to Kaisersteinbruch and watch her train," recalled Högler. She was simply too good to let her down. Hudson spoke of a "perfect environment for medals in the future".

And the successes came quickly, with Hudson winning bronze at the European Games in Chorzow in June 2023 and finishing fifth at the World Championships in Budapest in August. This was followed in 2024 by the biggest success of her career and the NIKI as a further highlight. "This is an award that I would never have dreamed of experiencing." The 28-year-old was almost overcome with emotion on stage. "Oh my God, it's really bad. It's amazing, I'm totally nervous," were her first words.

The women's top 10:
1. HUDSON Victoria (athletics) 676 votes
2. HÜTTER Cornelia (alpine skiing) 652
3. PILZ Jessica (climbing) 562
4. HÖLL Valentina (mountain biking) 496
5. POLLERES Michaela (judo) 471
6. ALEXANDRI Vasiliki (synchronized swimming) 415
7. PINKELNIG Eva (ski jumping) 196
8. MÖRZ Charlize (gymnastics) 181
9th EGLE Madeleine (luge/artificial track) 149
10. DREIER Sarah (ski mountaineering) 126

Group picture with all winners and other dignitaries of the evening

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Constantin Möstl is "Rising Star of the Year"
 The Paralympic medal winners Natalija Eder (javelin bronze) and Thomas Frühwirth (two handbike silver medals) were also honored at the gala in the disabled sports category. In the Special Olympics category, the prizes went to speed skater Veronika Kaube and alpine skiing ace Simon Berchtold.

Handball goalkeeper Constantin Möstl (handball) was voted up-and-comer of the year by sports fans and climbing coach Kilian Fischhuber was voted coaching personality by a jury of experts. The sports moment of the year was provided by the 3x3 wheelchair basketball team and the 3x3 men's team, who won gold at the European Championships in Vienna. Nico Langmann was named Sportsman with Heart. A special NIKI went to Sports Media Austria Honorary President Michael Kuhn.