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LAUSANNE, December 30, 2019 – Argentina and FC Barcelona genius Lionel Messi was voted the AIPS Best Male Athlete of 2019, edging long distance legend Eliud Kipchoge into second place. The award for Best Female Athlete went to the USA gymnastics star Simone Biles for the 2nd year in a row: this is the result of a poll by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), where a panel of 331 journalists from 102 countries voted for the Champions of 2019.
Earlier, it was announced that Liverpool FC were voted the Best Team, while the award for the Best Press Facility went to the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019.
LIONEL MESSI Nobody has won more games than Leo Messi in the last 10 years: after being recognised as Player of the Year six times, earlier in September he collected the BEST FIFA Men’s Player Award for the first time. This year the Argentinian forward also obtained the recognition of the International Sport Press Association with 394 votes (13,11%) leaving second position to the long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge (361) and the bronze medal to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal. “My main objectives this season are La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa America – Messi said to FIFA earlier in September - It’s been four years since we’ve won the Champions League and we really want to win it again. We know, though, that if we don’t do the job day in day out, then we won’t make it. And as for the Copa America, I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to go for it yet again. I’m really excited about this year’s Copa.”
Here’s the full Best Male Athlete list:
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football 394 (13,11%)
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) Athletics 361 (12,01%)
Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis 282 (9,38%)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Football 240 (7,98%)
Lewis Hamilton (UK) Formula One 232 (7,72%)
Virgil van Dijk (The Netherlands) Football 159 (5,29%)
Marcel Hirscher (Austria) Ski 145 (4,82%)
Milák Krištof (Hungary) Swimming 143 (4,76%)
Luka Dončić (Slovenia) Basketball 129 (4,29%)
Egan Bernal (Colombia) cycling 129 (4,29%)
Christian Coleman (USA) Athletics 82 (2,73%)
Johannes Thingnes Boe (Norway) Biathlon 76 (2,53%)
Marc Márquez (Spain) Moto GP 57 (1,90%)
Saúl Álvarez (Mexico) Box 56 (1,86%)
Karsten Warholm (Norway) Athletics 53 (1,76%)
Caeleb Dressel USA) Swimming 53 (1,76%)
Tiger Woods (USA) Golf 49 (1,63%)
Kento Momota (Japan) Badminton 46 (1,53%)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) Tennis 46 (1,53%)
Anton Čupkov Swimming (Russia) 37 (1,23%)
Adam Peaty Swimming (UK) 35 (1,16%)
Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) Figure Skating 33 (1,10%)
Stephen Curry (USA) Basketball 33 (1,10%)
Isaquias Queiroz (Brazil) Canoeing 24 (0,80%)
Joshiro Maruyama (Japan) Judo 24 (0,80%)
Jiří Prskavec (Czech Republic) Canoeing 22 (0,73%)
Javier Fernandez (Spain) Figure Skating 19 (0,63%)
Johannes H?sflot Kl?bo (Norway) Cross-country ski 19 (0,63%)
Tom Liebscher (Germany) Canoeing 15 (0,50%)
Nathan Chen (USA) Figure Skating 9 (0,30%)
Rudy Fernández (Spain) Basketball 2 (0,07%)
Sebastian Brendel (Germany) Canoeing 2 (0,07%)
SIMONE BILES For the second year running AIPS crowns Simona Biles Best Female Athlete. 2019 was the year Biles broke the internet when she became the first woman to land a triple-double in competition. She stormed her way into the record books winning five gold medals out of the six medal events at the Word Championship in Stuttgart making her the most decorated gymnast of all time at world championships with 25 medals across five competitions.
At only 22 years of age she is the most dominant gymnast ever known and well on her way to being one of the most dominant athletes in the history of sport. It’s not just that she defies gravity, performing feats that were presumed near impossible. She lands them with grace and makes them look easy.
Biles topped the AIPS poll with 452 votes ahead of runner up Megan Rapinoe, who starred in the FIFA 2019 Women’s World Cup with USA Team, who had 406 votes and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce in third place with 331 votes.
Here’s the full Best Female Athlete list:
Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics 452 (15,04%)
Megan Rapinoe (USA) Football 406 (13,51%)
Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce Athletics (Jamaica) 331 (11,01%)
Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) Swimming 302 (10,05%)
Mikaela Schiffrin (USA) Ski 232 (7,72%)
Dalilah Muhammad (USA) Athletics 191 (6,35%)
Ash Barty (Australia) Tennis 175 (5,82%)
Yulimar Rojas (Venezuela) Athletics 150 (4,99%)
Bianca Andreescu (Canada) Tennis 125 (4,16%)
Dorothea Wierer (Italy) Biathlon 109 (3,63%)
Dina Asher-Smith (UK) Athletics 103 (3,43%)
Darja Bilodid (Ukraine) Judo 87 (2,89%)
Clarisse Agbegnenou (France) Judo 75 (2,50%)
Therese Johaug (Norway) Cross-country ski 59 (1,96%)
Regan Smith (USA) Swimming 53 (1,76%)
Lisa Carrington (New Zealand) Canoeing 52 (1,73%)
Katie Taylor (Ireland) Boxing 46 (1,53%)
Risako Kawai (Japan) Wrestling 39 (1,30%)
Sanita Pušpure (Ireland) Rowing 19 (0,63%)
102 AIPS nations voted: Liverpool FC the Best Team of 2019 and IAAF World Championships Doha the Best Press Facility
Liverpool FC was voted the Best Team of 2019 after the incredible match in the UEFA Champions League ended with the title holder’s victory against Tottenham. Liverpool attracted the eyes of the world with one of the greatest UCL comebacks in its history by managing to access the final for the second year in a row after the 3-0 defeat in Barcelona. Pushed by Anfield’s support the Reds inflicted a 4-0 loss on Messi’s squad in a magical night. "You'll Never Walk Alone", sung at the top of his voice by coach Juergen Klopp under the Kop will remain a memorable moment of the decade.Meanwhile the unique award for the Best Press Facility went to the facilities and personnel of the exclusive IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019: with a lot of criticism ahead of the beginning of the event – postponed to September from the traditional athletics calendar – the World Athletics professionals and volunteers were able to set up everything the media needed to cover the event and work at their best.
This is the result of a poll by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), where a panel of 331 journalists from 102 countries voted for the Champions of 2019.
LIVERPOOL FC - The Reds of Liverpool FC were dominant in the Best Team poll, receiving a total of 908 votes, followed by the USA Women's National Team, who were the heroines of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 538 votes, while Rugby South Africa Men's National Team settled for third place with 434 votes.
Here's the full list of the Best Team of 2019
Liverpool FC - Football - 908 (30,21%)
USA Women's National Team – Football - 538 (17,90%)
South Africa Men's National Team - Rugby - 434 (14,44%)
Brazil Men's National Team - Volley - 267 (8,88%)
Győri Audi ETO KC - Handball - 174 (5,79%)
Denmark Men's National Team – Handball -138 (4,59%)
Team Norway - Biathlon -117 (3,89%)
Italy Men's National Team - Waterpolo - 114 (3,79%)
Spain Women's National Team - Basketball - 98 (3,26%)
Japanese Judo Mixed Team – Judo - 73 (2,43%)
England Men's Team - Cricket - 63 (2,10%)
German eight rowing - Rowing -39 (1,30%)
Ski Jumping Team Germany - Ski Jumping - 23 (0,77%)
Team Kajak Four Germany K4 500m - Kajak - 20 (0,67%)
IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - The event received a total of 574 votes, followed by the press facilities of FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 with 539 and Wimbledon 2019 with 461 votes.
Here's the list of the Best Press Facilities of 2019
IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - Athletics - 574 (19,10%)
FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – Football - 539 (17,93%)
Wimbledon Championships 2019 - Tennis - 461 (15,34%)
UEFA Nations League - Football - 316 (10,51%)
FIE Fencing World Championship Budapest 2019 – Fencing - 294 (9,78%)
Rugby World Cup 2019 – Rugby - 285 (9,48%)
IJF World Championship 2019 – Judo - 213 (7,09%)
Pan American Games Lima 2019 - Multi-sport -198 (6,59%)
African Games Rabat 2019 - Multi-sport -126 (4,19%)
Maria Pia Beltran - AIPS Media/ Photo by Michael Regan/G, Getty images
