Sportske novosti awards


Sportske novosti awards refer to annual sports awards given by Sportske novosti, a Croatian sports newspaper based in Zagreb. The awards originated in the early 1950s and went on to become one of the most prestigious Croatian sports awards. The winners are decided by polling sports journalists from around the country.

History

Sportske novosti is a Croatian sports daily established in 1945 and based in Zagreb. It first began awarding the Sportsman of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year awards in 1950, honoring greatest achievements in Yugoslav sports. The award, one of several Yugoslav national-level sporting honors, was given every year for the next four decades, until 1990, when it was discontinued due to the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatia's independence.
Before independence, in 1952 the newspaper had launched a parallel award for Croatian athletes, which honored best sporting achievements by any athlete hailing from SR Croatia, then a republic within Yugoslavia. After Croatia's independence in 1991 the Yugoslav category was discontinued, while the Croatian category continued to the present day. In 1966 a separate Best Yugoslav Sports Team was introduced, for achievements in team sports, and in 1973 the award was split into separate categories for men's and women's teams.
Since inception, all awards are selected through a poll of sports journalists from around the country who are members of the Croatian Association of Sports Journalists, the national professional association for sports writers established in 1949.

Winners

Award winners in all categories are collectively referred to as the "Golden Roll", and the winners for the preceding year are usually announced in early January. Since SN remains the only specialized sports daily in the country, the prize is regarded as one of the two most prestigious sports awards in Croatia, on par with the annual awards handed out by the Croatian Olympic Committee.
Among men, winners with most individual Croatian awards include the table tennis player Dragutin Šurbek, tennis star and Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanišević, and alpine skier Ivica Kostelić. Other notable multiple winners include tennis player Nikola Pilić, boxer Mate Parlov, basketball player and three-time NBA champion Toni Kukoč, and the Olympic gymnast Tin Srbić.
In the women's category, the all-time record holder is discus thrower Sandra Perković with nine wins, followed by alpine skier Janica Kostelić with eight, and high jumper Blanka Vlašić with six. Other notable multiple winners include tennis player and Roland Garros winner Iva Majoli, Olympic sports shooter Jasna Šekarić, bowling champion Biserka Perman and sprinter Milka Babović.
In the Yugoslav era, multiple winners of the national award include long-distance runner Franjo Mihalić, Slovenian gymnast Miroslav Cerar, Serbian middle-distance runner Vera Nikolić, and Slovenian skiers Bojan Križaj and Mateja Svet.
In team sports, the Yugoslavia men's national basketball team holds the record for most wins, with 13 awards won from 1966 to 1990, followed by the women's handball team with four, the men's water polo team with three and the women's basketball team.

Athlete of the Year

Croatian competition (1952–present)

Sportsman of the Year

YearWinnerSport
1952 Rowing
1952 Rowing
1952 Rowing
1952 Rowing
1953Rowing
1954Table tennis
1955Association football
1956Athletics
1957Water polo
1958Athletics
1959Bowling
1960Association football
1961Tennis
1962 Tennis
1962 Tennis
1963Basketball
1964 Tennis
1965Swimming
1966Bicycle racing
1967 Tennis
1968Table tennis
1969 Table tennis
1970Basketball
1971Boxing
1972 Boxing
1973 Boxing
1974Athletics
1975Table tennis
1976Canoeing
1977Athletics
1978Kayaking
1979 Table tennis
1980Basketball
1981 Table tennis
1982 Canoeing
1983 Table tennis
1984Wrestling
1985Basketball
1986 Basketball
1987Canoeing
1988Table tennis
1989Basketball
1990 Basketball
1991 Basketball
1992Tennis
1993 Tennis
1994 Tennis
1995Boxing
1996 Tennis
1997 Boxing
1998Association football
1999Swimming
2000Weightlifting
2001 Tennis
2002Alpine skiing
2003 Alpine skiing
2004Swimming
2005Tennis
2006 Tennis
2007Handball
2008Gymnastics
2009 Alpine skiing
2010 Alpine skiing
2011 Alpine skiing
2012Trap
2013Association football
2014Tennis
2015Association football
2016Rowing
2017Gymnastics
2018Association football
2019 Gymnastics
2020Handball
2021 Gymnastics
2022 Association football
2023 Gymnastics
2024Shooting sports
2025Swimming

Sportswoman of the Year

YearWinnerSport
1952Athletics
1953 Athletics
1954Swimming
1955 Athletics
1956Swimming
1957Handball
1958Swimming
1959Basketball
1960Tennis
1961 Swimming
1962Athletics
1963 Athletics
1964 Handball
1965Athletics
1966 Athletics
1967Table tennis
1968Swimming
1969Swimming
1970Basketball
1971Athletics
1972 Athletics
1973Handball
1974Athletics
1975Table tennis
1976Bowling
1977 Athletics
1978Bowling
1979Figure skating
1980 Bowling
1981 Figure skating
1982Bowling
1983Tennis
1984 Table tennis
1985 Bowling
1986Sports shooting
1987 Sports shooting
1988 Sports shooting
1989 Sports shooting
1990Athletics
1991Basketball
1992 Bowling
1993Sports shooting
1994Tennis
1995 Tennis
1996 Tennis
1997 Tennis
1998Alpine skiing
1999 Alpine skiing
2000 Alpine skiing
2001 Alpine skiing
2002 Alpine skiing
2003 Alpine skiing
2004Athletics
2005 Alpine skiing
2006 Alpine skiing
2007 Athletics
2008 Athletics
2009 Athletics
2010 Athletics
2011 Athletics
2012Athletics
2013 Athletics
2014 Athletics
2015 Athletics
2016 Athletics
2017 Athletics
2018 Athletics
2019 Athletics
2020Judo
2021Taekwondo
2022 Athletics
2023Taekwondo
2024 Judo
2025Alpine skiing

;By sport
This table lists the total number of awards for individual sportsmen and sportswomen by recipients' sporting profession.
SportMenWomenTotal
Athletics42731
Tennis13619
Alpine skiing5914
Basketball8311
Table tennis8311
Swimming4610
Bowling167
Sports shooting257
Association football707
Rowing606
Boxing505
Handball235
Gymnastics505
Canoeing303
Figure skating022
Taekwondo022
Judo022
Bicycle racing101
Kayaking101
Water Polo101
Weightlifting101
Wrestling101