Handball player Ómar Ingi Magnússon has been voted Athlete of the Year for the second year running, RÚV reports. Ómar Ingi led his team Magdeburg to a German Championship in 2022 and also played a key role for the Icelandic national team at this year’s European Handball Championships.
Top scorer at the 2022 EURO
Each year, the Association of Icelandic Sports Journalists presents its Athlete of the Year award. Yesterday, the honorary title was bestowed upon handballer Ómar Ingi Magnússon for the second year running.
Ómar Ingi was the top scorer at this year’s 2022 European Men’s Handball Championship, which took place between January 13 and January 30. Iceland finished sixth in the tournament, and Ómar scored 59 goals, twelve more than Denmark’s Mikkel Hansen.
Ómar Ingi plays right back (right winger) for the German team Magdeburg. This year, he led the team to their first Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) title in 21 years. During the campaign, Ómar Ingi became the second-highest scoring player in the German league and was voted the league’s best player by a wide margin. This fall, Ómar Ingi also helped Magdeburg win the IHF Men’s Super Globe.
Magdeburg currently sits in fourth place in the German league. Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson, who also plays for the team, received the third most votes in this year’s selection.
As noted by RÚV, this is the eleventh time that a handball player has been voted Athlete of the Year. Aron Pálmarsson was the last handballer to receive the honorary award in 2012.
Voting results (points tally):
Ómar Ingi Magnússon, handball – 615
Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, football – 276
Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson, handball – 273
Guðmundur Ágúst Kristjánsson, golf – 172
Anton Sveinn McKee, swimming – 164
Sandra Sigurðardóttir, football – 136
Elvar Már Friðriksson, basketball – 85
Kristín Þórhallsdóttir, powerlifting – 73
Tryggvi Snær Hlinason, basketball – 65
Viktor Gísli Hallgrímsson, handball / Hilmar Örn Jónsson, athletics – 62
Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, football – 50
Snorri Einarsson, skiing – 43
Perla Sól Sigurbrandsdóttir, golf – 43
Bjarki Már Elísson, handball – 30
Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, football – 26
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, football – 24
Guðni Valur Guðnason, athletics – 19
Thelma Aðalsteinsdóttir, gymnastics / Sóley Margrét Jónsdóttir, powerlifting – 9
Thelma Björg Björnsdóttir, parasports – 6
Hilmar Snær Örvarsson, parasports / Guðlaug Edda Hannesdóttir and Eygló Fanndal Sturludóttir, weightlifting. – 5
Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson, football – 3
Valgarð Reinhardsson, gymnastics – 2
Guðrún Brá Björgvinsdóttir, golf – 1
