Goffin as the first tennis player ever Sportsman of the Year, Nafi Thiam with recordscore Sportswoman of the Year

Saturday night at the annual Gala of the prizes for the best Belgian athletes of 2017 distributed. Nafi Thiam was, as expected, elected Sportswoman of the Year. David Goffin won in the election to the Sportsman of the Year cyclist Greg Van Avermaet. The Belgian Davis Cup team crowned itself the “Team of the Year”. Cyclist Lotte Kopecky was named “Promise of the Year”. Roger Lespagnard, the trainer of Nafi Thiam, received the award for “Coach of the Year”. Rolstoelatleet Peter Genyn is Paralympiër of the Year.

David Goffin on Saturday night in Brussels as the first tennis player ever awarded the title of Sportsman of the Year. The Also got the trophy of the Belgian Sports of Journalists (Sportspress.be). Goffin continued with 1349 points amply Greg Van Avermaet (848) and Kevin De Bruyne (338).

For Goffin, the price is the crowning glory on a beautiful seizoenseinde. The 27-year-old Belgian number one has won the ATP tournaments in Shenzen and Tokyo, in early October, after which he doorstoomde on the ATP World Tour Finals. Goffin defeated in London surprisingly, the numbers one and two of the world, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, in the finals of the thumbs should lay for the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Also in the finals of the Davis Cup attracted Goffin with Belgium just to the shortest end. France won with 3-2, but Goffin made it to the two Belgian points.

The Also ended the year as number seven in the world. He conquers, after a second place in 2014 and a third place last year – for the first time the title Sportsman of the Year, and so follow in the footsteps of his female colleagues, Sabine Appelmans, Dominique Monami, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Kirsten Flipkens, who between 1998 and 2013, fourteen of the sixteen titles in the women on their name wrote.

“There are always victories more beautiful than the other”, said the finalist of the Masters and the Davis Cup. “But Federer for the first time reports (in the semi-finals of the Masters, ed), is the most beautiful. He is my jeugdidool. That will always be special to stay”, says the number seven in the world.

“I am very happy that I have this prize this year to have won, after I had already twice on the stage had taken (Goffin was second in 2014, after Thibaut Courtois, and the third in 2016 after Greg Van Avermaet and Pieter Timmers, ed.). It gives me something to be the first tennis player who wins. It is a very nice reward. I am very proud. End for Greg Van Avermaet and Kevin De Bruyne, that happens to me not often. We all deserved this award.”

Goffin also went in to next season. “In 2015 we are going to try to climb up in the standings and do better in Grand Slam tournaments. I had like one or two weeks of vacation longer had, but that was not possible. I will have my season start in the Hopman Cup.”

Nafissatou Thiam was, as expected, voted Sportswoman of the Year. For the world champion in the zevenkamp is her third title, after 2014 and 2016.

Last year, Thiam Sportswoman of the Year with 1300 points, preferably 547 more than number two Jolien D’hoore. This year, Thiam for a new record with 1391 points, 554 more than the gymnast Nina Derwael (837). Basketster Emma Meesseman (385) was third.

Thanks to her third title adds the 23-year-old Thiam swimmer Carine Verbauwen (1975, 1978 and 1979), the first laureate in the history. Only judoka Ingrid Berghmans (eight titles between 1980 and 1989) and tennisters Kim Clijsters (eight titles between 1999 and 2011) and Justine Henin (four titles between 2003 and 2007)) have a (big) lead on the porte de Namur. A student of geography at the University of Liège gives the atletieksport as her sixth title, after Anne-Marie Pira (1976 and 1977), Tia Hellebaut (2008), and Thiam’s two previous titles.

Thiam was last summer in London, the first Belgian who has a world title in the athletics conquered. Except her world title in the zevenkamp was she in march in Belgrade also European champion indoors in the pentathlon. During the prestigious meeting in Götzis at the end of may, added, Thiam a illustrious performance. She became just the third athlete in the history of the internet that the border of 7,000 points exceeded. The IAAF award-winning Thiam this autumn with the title Wereldatlete of the Year.

Without the great years of Thiam had the title to go to the gymnast Nina Derwael. The 17-year-old Truiense sparkled on the beam and uneven bars and earned in that discipline gold at the european CHAMPIONSHIP in the Romanian Cluj and bronze at the world CHAMPIONSHIPS in the Canadian Montreal.

Also basketster Emma Meesseman had an excellent 2017. The West-Flemish captured the Russian title with her club, Ekaterinburg. In addition, obtained Meesseman with the Belgian Cats a first medal ever at a european CHAMPIONSHIP basketball. The women’s coach Philip Mestdagh won bronze in Prague.

Thiam: “No, it went not”

For Nafissatou Thiam is a very nice end of the year. “No, it went not”, let Thiam recording. “Every price keeps me having fun doing it. It is a wonderful year. Much better than I had hoped. I had at the beginning of the year, never believed that I 7.000 points would get in Götzis and also the world champion would be. Hopefully it will stay the all take.”

Also her coach Roger Lespagnard fell in the prizes at the gala as a Coach of the Year. “We are a close team,” said Thiam. “Roger is someone who is never the focus will search. I am very happy for him.”

Also about the Sportsman of the Year David Goffin was Thiam commended. “I have matches not seen, but I follow his results. In the same tournament Nadal and Federer beat is really strong. We have in Belgium for such a small country a lot of great athletes.”

After Thiam finished the very young Nina Derwael (17) and second in the election. They garnered the admiration of Thiam. “I find it very clever what they have done on her 17th already performs. I wish her much success in the future.”

The Belgian Davis Cup team was on the Show, voted Team of the Year. The professional journalists, gathered in the trade-union Sportspress, the basketbalvrouwen Belgian Cats on two and the national mannenhockeyploeg Red Lions on three.

The men of Johan Van Herck, losing finalist in the Davis Cup, got 566 votes behind their name. The basketvrouwen, third at the european CHAMPIONSHIPS, got 437 points. The hockeymannen, vice-European champion, completed the podium with 272 points.

The Davis Cup team played for the second time in three years the final. David Goffin, Steve Darcis, Ruben Bemelmans, Joris De Loore and Arthur De Greef switched successively in Germany, Italy and Australia. In the final in Lille, France was too strong.

For the seventh time was the award of Coach of the Year awarded, again to atletiekcoach Roger Lespagnard went. The 71-year-old Also is already ten years the trainer of Nafissatou Thiam, the topfavoriete to her the title of Sportswoman of the Year to renew.

Lespagnard knocked with 472 points football coach Hugo Broos, who 367 points sprokkelde. Brittle, won as coach of Cameroon in the Africa Cup in the wait. He was the first Belgian coach of a football team that is a title earned with a national team.

The bronze went to Johan Van Herck, captain of the Davis Cup team that has a handsome performance, with the final at the tennis tournament. He got 339 points behind his name. In 2015, the year of the first Belgian participation in the Davis Cup final, he finished as runner-up.

Lespagnard is the third coach that twice in a row is awarded a prize in this category, after Jacques Borlée in 2011 and 2012, and Marc Wilmots in 2013 and 2014. So far, only track – and-field and football coaches the prize drag.

Cyclist Lotte Kopecky was named “Promise of the Year”. They took it for judoka Matthias Casse and golfer Thomas Detry. Kopecky (22) was world champion ploegkoers together with Jolien D’hoore and also won two tests at the world Cup in Poland. She stands first in the world in the omnium and second in the points race, and also closed the world Cup in those places.

Also on the road showed Kopecky. In the promises, she was the Belgian champion in both the time trial as the road race, and in the road race with the elites, she was second after the belgian champion Jolien D’hoore. In the Tour of Flanders, she was fifth. She is the first cyclist that Promise of the Year. The cyclist from Rumst collected 210 points, world champion in judo in the juniors Casse obtained 177. Detry sprokkelde 138 points. On the roll of honour follows Kopecky athlete Louise Carton.

In addition to the Sportsman and Sportswoman will be later in the evening, the Team and Paralympiër of the Year awarded. The voters were professional journalists affiliated with Sportspress.be and former winners of the trophy, Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year who no longer are active.

Peter Genyn , the price for Paralympic Athlete of the Year. Genyn (421 points) obtained with a minimal difference of 29 points for Laurens Devos (392). Joachim Gérard was third (270).

The 41-year-old Genyn picked up in July as rolstoelatleet the world titles in the 100m and 400m in London. This he confirmed his paralympic titles, which he last year obtained at the same distances.

Genyn broke in 1993, his neck in a dive into shallow water. Today he has no movement from the chest to the feet and a limited hand and arm function (tetraplegie).

He played in the first instance rolstoelrugby and was in that discipline is the European champion in 2009. He also gained places with the rugby team at the Paralympic Games of Athens in 2004 (sixth) and London in 2012 (seventh). At the end of 2012, after a broken leg, and lifted the man from antwerp is located on the rolstoelatletiek. In 2016, he conquered – in addition to his paralympic titles, one European title in the 400m, the distance at which he is also world record holder.