Evenepoel and Meesseman favourites to be crowned Sportsman and Woman of the Year
Remco Evenepoel could be crowned Sportsman of the Year for the fifth time in his career on Sunday evening. The 25-year-old cyclist, who excelled in time trials last season with a world and European title, is shortlisted alongside Isaac Kimeli, who won silver in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo, and Ajay Mitchell, who won the NBA with Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the women’s category, basketball player Emma Meesseman could win for the second time, after taking the title in 2020. The 32-year-old captain of the Belgian Cats, who successfully defended their European Championship title last summer, is up against short track speed skater Hanne Desmet and swimmer Roos Vanotterdijk.
Desmet won her first world title in the 1,000m at the World Championships in Beijing, while Vanotterdijk became the first Belgian to win two medals at a long course World Championships, with silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 50m butterfly in Singapore.
A fifth win for Evenepoel would put him level with motocross rider Stefan Everts and heptathlete Nafi Thiam. Fellow cyclist Eddy Merckx holds the men’s record, with six wins in a row from 1969 to 1974. Judoka Ingrid Berghmans and tennis player Kim Clijsters have each won the award eight times.
Sportspress.be, the professional association of sports journalists in Belgium, will award four other trophies at the Sports Gala in Schelle.
The Team of the Year award will be contested between the Belgian Cats, the Black Devils men’s rugby team and Union Saint-Gilloise, the national football champions. Davis Cup captain Steve Darcis, Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany and Mike Thibault, the Cats’ sporting director, are nominated for Coach of the Year.
The Promising Young Talent will be chosen from Vanotterdijk, Anderlecht’s Nathan De Cat and tennis player Jeline Vandromme, who won the US Open junior title in September. 100m and 400m champion Léa Bayekula, cyclist Tim Celen and table tennis player Laurens Devos are shortlisted for Paralympian of the Year.
Last year’s titles were won by Evenepoel and Thiam.
#FlandersNewsService | Remco Evenepoel at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, September 2025 © PHOTO ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
Related news
