The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has announced the five finalists for the 12th Summer Edition of the Piotr Nurowski Best Young European Athlete Prize. The winner will be decided at the 52nd EOC General Assembly in Istanbul on 6 October 2023.

The shortlist was decided with the three athletes who received the most votes from 48 European National Olympic Committees (NOC) joined by two athletes who were selected by an EOC panel of experts.

The Piotr Nurowski Prize is awarded to an athlete aged between 14 and 18 who has excelled in their sport and embodied the Olympic Values both inside and outside of competition over the past year.

Voting for the winner will take place during the first day of General Assembly before an Award Ceremony at the Gala Dinner in the evening.

The five nominees are:

1. Ms Sarah Chaâri (BEL) Taekwondo
2. Kirill Boliukh (UKR) Diving
3. Patricia Tomankova (SVK) Judo
4. Kuzey Tunçelli (TUR) Swimming
5. Darja Varfolomeev (GER) Rhythmic Gymnastics

Belgium’s Sarah Chaâri won the -62kg category in taekwondo at the European Games 2023 and at 18 years old is currently ranked number one in the world. As well as having an outstanding competitive season she has also embarked on her medical studies, securing her place by ranking in the top 6% of candidates.

In August this year Ukrainian diver Kirill Boliukh helped secure a quota place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 by taking the silver medal in the 10m platform synchronised diving competition at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan. This added to his two gold medals won at the European Games 2023 in the 10m platform synchronised diving and 10m platform mixed synchronised diving.

Patricia Tomankova enjoyed a medal-laden summer for Slovakia. After winning her country’s first judo European Championships medal in 20 years in Odivelas, she won gold at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Maribor 2023 and also gold at the World Championships Cadets in Zagreb. She now has her sights firmly set on being Olympic Champion.

The youngest of the five finalists, Türkiye’s Kuzey Tunçelli is showing incredible promise for the future. In 2023, he has achieved the Olympic qualifying time for Paris 2024 in the 1500m freestyle and the Olympic consideration time in the 800m freestyle. He won the 2023 European Junior Championship in the 1500m freestyle, setting a new European Juniors record and also won the EYOF Maribor 2023 1500m freestyle, again taking a new Festival record.

Darja Varfolomeev won Germany’s first rhythmic gymnastics World Championships all-around title in 48 years in 2023, showing improvement from her second place the previous year when she secured Germany a quote place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Even at her young age she is a role model for the young athletes and holds a big sense of responsibility and reliability across the team.

The Piotr Nurowski Prize

The Piotr Nurowski Prize was created by the EOC in 2010 to remember Olympic great Piotr Nurowski, and through his example and his memory encourage young athletes to pursue a career in top class sport, as well as inspire future generations to adopt a healthy lifestyle based on Olympic Values and principles. As well as taking into account an athletes’ performance during the Summer EYOF and other championships, their conduct during events and their engagement with Olympic culture, values and friendship are just as important. It was first awarded to the Best Young European Athlete in 2011 and 2023 marks the twelfth time that summer sports have had a dedicated award.

The winners of the previous Piotr Nurowski Prize editions can be found here.