Handball player Ólafur Stefánsson was named the Icelandic sportsman of the year 2009 by the Association of Sport Journalists during a celebratory ceremony last night. Football players Eidur Smári Gudjohnsen and Thóra B. Helgadóttir placed second and third.
Stefánsson has won the title two years in a row and four times in total. Only one Icelandic sportsperson has won the title more often, Olympic silver medalist Vilhjálmur Einarsson, who won the title five times, Morgunbladid reports.
“I’m satisfied with the position of being second to Vilhjálmur,” Stefánsson said when asked whether he wanted to win the title for the fifth time. “I have been lucky in my career but I have also not been afraid to keep developing myself as a player.”
Stefánsson was deemed worthy of the title because of his achievements with Spanish handball club Ciudad Real against the German club Kiel in the European Handball Federation Champions League last year.
Gudjohnsen became a European and Spanish champion with his club Barcelona, and his team also won the Spanish cup, while Helgadóttir was named the best football player of the Norwegian premiere league as well as being a key player in the Icelandic national team.
