Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition.

Definition of "athlete"

Similar names for the award

The awards have various titles, examples include "Player of the Year" and "Sportspersonality of the Year". In the United States, several states choose a simple "Mr." or "Miss" prefix, such as Mr. Basketball (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin). Such awards — general and one-sport-only — are common at the high-school, college (university), and professional levels in the United States.

List of athlete of the year awards

Athletics (track and field)

All sports

Worldwide

Awards with deliberate global scope, consistently nominating an international mix of athletes

Continental

Regional

Nationwide

Awards that focus (either predominantly or exclusively) on sportspersons from the host country The presence of "Sportsman" in the name doesn't imply that the award is open solely to men; women have frequently won these awards.

Defunct

One sport (other than track and field)

Footnotes