Football player Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson was chosen Iceland’s 2016 Sportsperson of the Year by the Association of Icelandic Sport Journalists, according to Vísir. The choice was announced at Harpa Concert Hall on December 29.
This is the second time Gylfi earns the title, but he was also chosen Sportsperson of the Year in 2013. He ranked second both in 2014 and 2015. Only two other football players have won the title twice—Ásgeir Sigurvinsson and Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen.
Gylfi had a fabulous year, both as a midfielder for Premier League club Swansea City and with the Icelandic men’s national football team, which made history by making it to the UEFA EURO quarter finals in France last summer.
He set a new Icelandic record by scoring 14 Premier League goals during the year. In France, he played a key role for the Icelandic national team and was among its very best players. The Icelandic team has already earned seven points during its first four qualifying games for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia next year.
The athlete who placed second was swimmer Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir, who won three medals at the LEN European Aquatics Championships in London in May, and third place went to golfer Ólafía Þórunn Kristinsdóttir, who in December secured the right to compete at the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour next year, by finishing second at the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida.
