Polish football player Robert Lewandowski was voted runner-up, while Dutch Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen came in third in the poll held by PAP among journalists from news agencies across Europe.
The second-highest rated Polish athlete, ski jumper Kamil Stoch, was voted in 37th place.
Journalists from 26 European news agencies, including France’s AFP and Germany’s DPA, selected their picks for the top 10 athletes in Europe.
The PAP poll, now in its 64th year, is one of the oldest of its kind worldwide, according to the Polish news agency.
Polish athletes have won four times. Lewandowski was voted European athlete of the year 2020, while long-distance runner Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak won when the poll was first held in 1958. Track-and-field legend Irena Szewińska, Poland’s most decorated Olympic athlete, won twice, in 1966 and 1974.
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Source: PAP