With a heavy heart: the 2020 athlete election is canceled

With a heavy heart, the Dolomiten sports editorial team, in consultation with the Südtiroler Sporthilfe, has decided not to hold the 2020 athlete election and the associated Sporthilfe Gala on October 9th. “We have discussed intensively in several discussions whether we should hold the 34th edition of the athlete election despite Corona or not,” explained Dolomites Editor-in-chief Toni Ebner: “There were not the same conditions for all of the country’s top athletes to show their skills. It would therefore be unfair to all those athletes who are still in the starting blocks to hold an election. But that should in no way detract from the outstanding achievements of winter athletes in the first few months of this year.” The President of the South Tyrolean Sports Aid, Giovanni Podini, also shares this opinion: “We have great respect for all the achievements of our top athletes, but are convinced that they will repeat them in the future. We have been monitoring the Corona situation for a long time, as well as the current regulations regarding the use of the Merano Kurhaus. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that it was impossible to organize the Sporthilfe Gala with over 1200 guests in closed rooms.” A tailor-made start – but then... In fact, the year 2020 got off to a great start for the South Tyrolean athletes. Biathlete Dorothea Wierer made a big impression at the home World Championships in Antholz and was crowned double world champion, and just a little later she also won the overall World Cup. Snowboarder Roland Filehner completed the season of his life at the proud age of 39 and won the overall World Cup for the first time. And natural track luger Evelin Lanthaler was able to call herself the overall World Cup winner and European champion after the winter. But then Corona came – and the sports world suddenly came to a standstill. The summer athletes around world-class mountain biker Gerhard Kerschbaumer, swimmer Stefano Ballo or tennis ace Jannik Sinner and Andreas Seppi are still waiting for their first appearances on the big sports stage. That's why the organizers of the athletes' election increasingly asked themselves the question: Would it be fair to name South Tyrolean Athlete of the Year in such a bizarre year in 2020? After long and intensive discussions, the answer was: no.

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With a heavy heart: the 2020 athlete election is canceled

The choice of athletes belongs to South Tyrol like the ski races in Val Gardena or the biathlon spectacle in Antholz. The country's best athletes have been honored every year since 1987. But nothing will come of it this year.

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