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The European Athlete of the Year Trophy is an annual prize awarded to sportspeople participating in athletics, including track and field, road running and cross country running competitions. The election has been organised by the European governing body for the sport of athletics, the European Athletic Association (EAA), since 1993.
Each year, a shortlist is created by selecting the top European athlete in each event, based upon performances at the year's major championships. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one athlete be shortlisted per event. Athletes who have served a doping ban of two years or more are ineligible. Via the EAA website, fans, media and members of the EAA federations are allowed to vote for five male and five female athletes on the list, with athletes receiving one to five points based on their ranking. A panel of experts also cast their votes. The votes of each of the four groups comprises 25% of the athletes' total scores, and the male and female athletes with the highest combined points totals win.
The European Athletics Rising Star of the Year Award was inaugurated in 2007. The award, open to athletes under 23 years of age, was created as a way of acknowledging young competitors' achievements on their way to becoming senior athletes.
Waterford Crystal sponsored the event from 2002–2008 and Mondo, a manufacturer of track and field equipment and facilities, sponsored the 2009 presentation.
Mo Farah of Great Britain is the only athlete, male or female, to win the main award three times. Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny, Britsh triple jumper Jonathan Edwards and his Swedish rival Christian Olsen have won the men's award twice, while Sweden's heptathlete Carolina Kluft, the Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Croat high jumper Blanka Vlasic and Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers have won the women's award twice each. Two athletes have completed the double of the Rising Star award, followed by the senior award; sprinter Christophe Lemaitre of France, and Great Britain's Olympic and World champion heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill.