Lemaitre and Heidler voted European Athletes of the Month for May.
European Athletics is pleased to announce that French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre and German hammer throw world record holder Betty Heidler have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for May.
Lemaitre, who became the first man in the history of the European Athletics Championships to complete the treble of 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold in Barcelona last year, gave ample signs of things to come in 2011 clocking 10.00 in the 100m when finishing third behind Jamaican stars Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell at the Diamond League meeting in Rome.
Heidler produced the first outdoor world record of 2011 when she launched her implement out to a stunning 79.42m on home soil at the Hallesche Werfertage throws meeting in the German city of Halle. Heidler, 27, broke her own German national record of 77.12m, set when winning the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, in the first round with a throw of 77.19m.
For their memorable performances during the month of May, they have been voted as European Athletes of the Month after thousands of athletics fans from across Europe casted their votes.
Popular Italian star Andrew Howe, who has reinvented himself this season and was leading the European season chart in both the 200m and 400m for a while, winning the 200m title in Rome with a time of 20.31 and clocking 45.70 for the 400m in Della Valle, was voted second behind Frenchman Lemaitre.
Latvia’s 2004 Olympic Games javelin silver medallist Vadim Vasilevskis finished third in the men’s poll following his world-leading throw of 88.22m at the Big Bank Kuldliiga meeting in Tartu, Estonia.
Bulgarian sprints star Ivet Lalova drew lots of fan votes from across the continent following her impressive start to the season when she clocked a European leading time of 11.08 and 22.66 for the 100m and 200m in Izmir. She finished second in the women’s poll ahead of world and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis of Great Britain, who notched up a world-leading heptathlon score of 6790 points to win the title at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.
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