Janja Garnbret a Sportswoman of the Year finalist
New York, 1 August - Slovenia's climbing sensation Janja Garnbret has made it among the ten finalists for the Sportswoman of the Year award for 2019, conferred since 1980 by the New York-based Women's Sports Foundation.
Kranj
Slovenian sport climber Janja Garnbret
Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
Garnbret, currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the International Federation of Sport Climbing, has been picked side by side with the likes of US alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin and artistic gymnastic champion Simone Biles.
The finalists in the individual sport athlete category also include US track and field athlete Ajee Wilson, US boxer Claressa Shields, US mountain biker Kate Courtney, US Paralympic swimmer Rebecca Meyers, Paralympic triathlete Allysa Seely, UK auto racer Jamie Chadwick and South Korean golfer Jin Young Ko.
The finalists have been chosen based on their achievements between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019. The public can cast a vote for their favourites on the website sportswomanoftheyear.com until 2 August, local time, or 3 August 6:59am CET.
The winner, along with the one in team sports, will be selected by a 50-50 vote by the public and the Women's Sports Foundation's Awards Committee. The winners will be declared in New York on 16 October.
Last year the title in the individual sports category went to Ukrainian-born American Paralympic rower Oksana Masters. Other past winners include Serena Williams, Steffi Graf and Simone Biles.