Professional golfer Ólafía Þórunn Kristinsdóttir was awarded 2017 Sportsperson of the Year last night in Reykjavík, RÚV reports. Footballers Aron Einar Gunnarsson and Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson were awarded second and third place respectively.
This is Ólafía’s first time winning the award, though she was in third place last year. She is only the seventh woman of 62 individuals who have received the award and the first golfer.
Ólafía became the first Icelandic golfer to compete in the LPGA Tour this year. She competed in 26 tournaments in 2017, finishing in 74th place in the international golf rankings. She achieved her best performance of the year in the Indy Women in Tech Championship where she won fourth place. Her success in the tournament is the 10th best of any newcomer.
In other categories, the Iceland men’s national football team was awarded Team of the Year and their manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was awarded Coach of the Year. Iceland became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup this year.
