LEN Awards 2015 – Cseh and Hosszu finish atop

World champions highlight the winners’ list of the 2015 LEN Awards. European athletes were dominant at last year’s showcase in Kazan, in most disciplines it was a hard call to choose among the best performers.

The winners in swimming came from the same nation: Laszlo Cseh and Katinka Hosszu both represent Hungary. Earlier only the Germans could achieve this double when Paul Biedermann and Britta Steffen won the awards in 2009.

The voting saw a really balanced field in men’s swimming with Cseh being ranked first at the end. The Magyar staged a great comeback in Kazan, winning a world title after 10 years (in the 200m fly) and becoming the first male swimmer medalling at seven World Championships and also the first one clinching medals in all three distances in the same stroke (apart from freestyle). His golden triple at the short-course Europeans topped by two European Records in Netanya could be a real booster in the voting. Britain’s Adam Peaty, three-time world champion (with two WRs in the season) was a close second, while Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, world champion and short-course European champion (broke the s/c WR in the 1500m free in Netanya) came third.

Katinka Hosszu completed another outstanding season and won the LEN Award for the third straight occasion. She retained her two individual medley world titles in Kazan while breaking her first ever long-course World Record in the 200m. Later she went on winning the overall World Cup title and finished her run in Netanya with the best ever individual showing in the history of the short-course Europeans by capturing 6 gold and a silver medal. Sarah Sjostrom is the runner-up in the election, the Swede collected five medals in Kazan (and broke a WR) and added three titles in the s/c Europeans.

In diving Tom Daley returned to the top after six years: though the Brit didn’t win the 10m at the Worlds – like in 2009 –, he managed to earn a gold medal in the team event and came third in the individual platform competition. Daley also offered a solid performance in the World Series, finishing second in the overall in the 10m – enough to finish ahead of compatriot Jack Laugher who also enjoyed great successes in the 3m throughout the season.

Tania Cagnotto and the LEN Award seem to have joined once and forever: Italy’s diving star was voted Europe’s best for the fifth consecutive time and she will receive her 6th statue altogether. Queen Tania staged another brilliant season which saw her becoming world champion for the very first time in her illustrious career (in 1m), she added two more bronze medals at the World Championships (3m, 3m mixed) and shone as usual at the Europeans in Rostock where she was crowned three times (1m, 3m, 3m synchro).

Russia regained the top prize in synchro: after Spain’s Ona Carbonell’s win in 2014 it was the discipline’s ruling nation’s turn again. This time Svetlana Romashina took the award, for the second time as an individual – previously she also received the distinction when duets were also recognised, that time with her long-time partner Natalia Ishchenko who is tied second with Carbonell now.

Just a tiny margin separated the two best male open water swimmers and Ferry Weertman bettered Simone Ruffini: the Dutchman’s two silver medals in Kazan (10km and team) weighed just a bit more than the Italian’s world title in the 25km. This was the second win for Holland among the men after the sport’s first Olympic champion, the great Maarten van der Weijden had been rewarded in 2008. Among the women the first French triumph has been recorded: Aurelie Muller came ahead of 2014 winner Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED), just as in the 10km race at the Worlds where they had also finished 1-2.

Dusko Pijetlovic’s win in the men’s water polo was an overwhelming one: the MVP of the World Championships in Kazan received 72% of the votes (the second highest to Cagnotto’s share). The Serbian enjoyed a tremendous season as he clinched all titles on offer, the World Championship and World League gold medals with the national team and the Champions League trophy with Pro Recco – in fact, Pijetlovic played in a losing team only once in the entire year in all matches at all levels.

Since the title went to the USA in Kazan, the women’s water polo is the only category not featuring a world champion as a winner: still, Italy’s Roberta Bianconi is a worthy recipient of the LEN Award with a bronze medal from Kazan and a Euro League title with the Greek team Olympiacos.

The best water polo players receive their respective awards in Belgrade at the European Championships kicking off on Sunday, while the other LEN Award winners will be celebrated in May, at the LEN Aquatic European Championships in London.

LEN Awards 2015

Swimming

Men
Laszlo Cseh (HUN) 31.9%
Adam Peaty (GBR) 25.5%
Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) 23.4%
Florent Manaudou (FRA) 12.8%
Marco Koch (GER) 6.4%

Women
Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 66.0%
Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 21.3%
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) 8.5%
Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 4.2%

Diving

Men
Tom Daley (GBR) 42.2%
Jack Laugher (GBR) 24.4%
Evgeny Kuznetsov (RUS) 13.3%
Ilya Zakharov (RUS) 11.2%
Matthieu Rosset (FRA) 8.9%

Women
Tania Cagnotto (ITA) 80.0%
Yulia Prokopchuk (RUS) 8.9%
Rebecca Gallantree (GBR) 4.4%
Nadezhda Bazhina (RUS) 4.4%
Tina Punzel (GER) 2.3%

Synchro
Svetlana Romashina (RUS) 50.0%
Ona Carbonell (ESP) 25.0%
Natalia Ishchenko (RUS) 25.0%

Open water swimming

Men
Ferry Weertman (NED) 28.3%
Simone Ruffini (ITA) 26.1%
Christian Reichert (GER) 19.6%
Matteo Furlan (ITA) 13.0%
Rob Muffels (GER) 13.0%

Women
Aurelie Muller (FRA) 40.9%
Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) 25.0%
Rachele Bruni (ITA) 18.2%
Anna Olasz (HUN) 9.1%
Isabelle Harle (GER) 6.8%

Water polo

Men
Dusko Pijetlovic (SRB) 72.8%
Ioannis Fountoulis (GRE) 9.1%
Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) 9.1%
Maro Jokovic (CRO) 4.5%
Josip Pavic (CRO) 4.5%

Women
Roberta Bianconi (ITA) 31.8%
Maud Megens (NED) 29.5%
Rita Keszthelyi (HUN) 20.5%
Catharina vd Sloot (NED) 13.7%
Gulia Gorlero (ITA) 4.5%

Press release from LEN, image courtesy of LEN Media / Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia