Shotgun shooter Jiří Lipták has been named the South Moravian Athlete of the Year for 2023. He received the award from Governor Jan Grolich on Tuesday, 19 March, in the SONO Centrum in Brno.
Last year, Lipták, a member of the SSKP Kometa Brno shooting club, won the world cup in the trap discipline and a bronze medal at the European Championship with the Czech team. Sports climber Adam Ondra (Tesla Brno), a multiple winner of the poll from previous years, finished in second place, and whitewater skier Marie Němcová (Kanoe klub Spoj Brno) took third place.
“I follow the career of Olympic champion and shotgun shooting legend Jirka Lipták very closely,” said Governor Jan Grolich. “Last year, he dominated the entire world cup in the trap discipline, and I am glad that I could congratulate him on his first place among South Moravian athletes. Considering that he has qualified for the Olympics in Paris, I believe that we have definitely not seen the last from him.”
The survey awarded the best sports performance of the past year in nine categories: Athlete of the South Moravian Region, Sports Talent of the South Moravian Region, Athlete with a Handicap, Coach of the Year, Sports Team of the South Moravian Region (Senior Team), Sports Team of the South Moravian Region (Youth Team), Sports Event of the Year, South Moravian Sports Hall of Fame, and Sporting “nice guy” (public award).
The regional awards have now become a traditional event, which aims to highlight the extraordinary sports results and performances achieved in the past year by athletes and clubs based in the region.
The South Moravian Athlete of the Year awards are organised by the regional branch of the Czech Association of Physical Education (ČUS), in cooperation with the South Moravian Region. The regional awards immediately follow the announcement of the best athletes in individual districts, which are organised by the individual district associations of ČUS.
