The nominees indicated their favorites for the athlete of the year. There could be one choice
On January 6, we will know the winners of the 89th Plebiscite of “Przegląd Sportowy” and Polsat for the best athlete in Poland. A few days before the Sports Champions Gala, the list of nominees was published on Onet’s website.
According to a long-standing tradition, the new calendar year in Poland opens with the decision on who deserves the title of the best athlete. This is the famous Plebiscite of “Przegląd Sportowy” (and Polsat) for the figure who gained the greatest recognition among voters for his achievements – this time – in 2023.
Iga Świątek is the most appreciated among the nominees
Onet published on Tuesday (January 2) the results of the predictions among the nominees in the 89th Plebiscite of “Przegląd Sportowy”. As could be predicted, the winner was Iga Świątek, who collected as many as 63 points. Bartosz Zmarzlik was in second place, but the runner-up’s result is a real gap compared to the leader of the WTA ranking. The speedway world champion scored “only” 19 points. Natalia Kaczmarek completed the podium, the athlete scored 17 points.
How exactly did the favorites vote? Fourth among the nominees, Aleksander Śliwka, put Iga Świątek first, Bartosz Zmarzlik second, and Kaczmarek third. Piotr Żyła? First place was Świątek, in second place he gave… himself, and in third place he placed his teammate, Dawid Kubacki.
Magda Linette chose the first three places. The tennis player put on them: Natalia Kaczmarek, Ewa Swoboda and Iga Świątek. However, Śliwka was chosen as the leader by Michał Bryl, a beach volleyball player, also nominated in the 2023 plebiscite. Magdalena Stysiak came second, and Świątek came third.
When will the Sports Champions Gala take place?
It is worth recalling that in 2022, the three-time winner (at that time with two titles) triumphed at Roland Garros. The two previous editions were won by Robert Lewandowski. If we go back even earlier, Zmarzlik won in 2019, and in 2018 Bartosz Kurek, who was then the MVP and gold medalist of the World Championships. Justyna Kowalczyk-Tekieli has the most wins in the plebiscite, five.
The Sports Champions Gala, during which we will recognize the winners in several categories apart from the plebiscite itself (including team of the year), will take place on Saturday (January 6), starting at 8:00 p.m. The broadcast will take place on Polsat TV, and behind-the-scenes footage from the event will also be available on the Wprost sports website.
