By Duncan Mackay

Urkaine's Bohdan Bondarenko has been voted European Athlete of the Year after winning the high jump at the IAAF World Championships in MoscowOctober 12 - Ukrainian high jumper Bohdan Bondarenko and Czech Republic's 400 metres hurdler Zuzana Hejnová were tonight named European Athletes of the Year at a special ceremony in Tallinn, Estonia. 


Serbia's Emir Bekrić and Iceland's Anita Hinriksdottir claimed the European Athletics Rising Star Awards.

With the ceremony being shown live on television for the first time in history and streamed live on the internet, all four athletes were present to collect their prizes in a glittering ceremony at the Seaplane Harbour.

Bondarenko, 24, was chosen ahead of Britain's Mo Farah, who became only the second runner in history to complete the Olympic and World Championship double of 5,000 and 10,000 metres, and Poland's Pawel Fajdek, the world hammer champion. 

Bondarenko had won at the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Moscow and also the Diamond Race.

His 2.41 metres jumps at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, and also in Moscow, were the best in the world for 19 years.

Zuzana Hejnová celebrates winning the 400 metres hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in MoscowZuzana Hejnová celebrates winning the 400 metres hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow

The 26-year-old Hejnová won her award ahead of Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva, who won her third world title in the pole vault, and Italy's Valeria Straneo, the world marathon silver medallist and winner of the half-marathon at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin.

Hejnová won all 13 of her races during 2013, including her heat and semi-final before triumphing at the IAAF World Championships, and also at all seven IAAF Diamond League meetings.

Bekrić, 22, won at the European Athletics Under-23 Championships 400m hurdles and then finished third at the IAAF World Championships in a national record of 48.05sec.

Iceland's Anita Hinriksdottir celebrates winning the gold medal in the 800 metres at the World Youth Championships in DonetskIceland's Anita Hinriksdottir celebrates winning the gold medal in the 800 metres at the World Youth Championships in Donetsk

The 17-year-old Hinriksdottir, was a winner of the 800m at both the IAAF World Youth Championships, where she set a championship record, and the European Athletics Junior Championships.

More than 16,000 fans voted on the European Athlete of the Year and Rising Star Awards, while 163 members of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) from 54 countries also voted.

The winning athletes were decided by counting votes from the fans, media, European Athletics Member Federations as well as an expert European Athletics panel, with the results from each group of voters counting for one quarter of the athlete's final score.

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