June 16 - Britain's Jessica Ennis (pictured) has been voted the female European Athlete of the Month for May - the third time this year that the Sheffield multi-eventer has claimed the award.



Ennis, 24, continued her run of impressive form this year and dominated the proceedings in May at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Combined Events Challenge meeting in Gotzis, earning a total of 6,689 points in the heptathlon. 

Ennis has proven to be unstoppable ever since winning the world title in Berlin last August, including winning the gold medal in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in March.

In an outstanding May she also defeated Olympic 400 metres champion Christine Ohuruogu over 150m in the Manchester Great City Games.

The men's award was won by Norway's Olympic, world and European javelin champion Andreas Thorkildsen.

He was given the award for regaining his mantle of world leader this outdoor season after throwing a huge 90.37 metres at the Florø Friidrettsfestival in Norway.

Earlier he started his 2010 campaign with an emphatic victory at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.

The 28-year-old will be the centre of attention at this weekend’s European Team Championships, which is scheduled to take place in his homeland in Bergen.

Moldovan marathon runner Iaroslav Musinschi, who registered the best time by a European athlete this year in clocking 2 hours 08min 32sec en route to winning the Dusseldorf Marathon, came in a close second in the men's category.

Slovakia’s Matej Toth, who became the first ever medal winner from his country at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in taking the 50km Walk gold in Chihuahua, Mexico, with a time of 3:53:30, finished third in the polls.

The Czech Republic’s Denisa Rosolova and Hammer world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland finished second and third respectively in the women’s poll.

While Rosolova clocked a personal best and European-leading 50.85 in the 400m, the 24-year-old Wlodarczyk produced a world-leading throw of 75.74m at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.


Related stories
May 2010: Ennis holds on to win in Gotzis
May 2010: Ennis defeats Ohuruogu and Gay beats the clock
March 2010: Double gold for Britain but US dominate in Doha
February 2010: Ennis wins European award
December 2009: Ennis voted Sportswoman of the Year by journalists