European and Commonwealth champion Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix has placed second in the European Olympic Committee's Piotr Nurowski Prize for the Best European Young Athlete after a ceremony at the weekend.
The 18-year-old was named as one of the finalists earlier this month and was awarded second place overall after votes were cast last week.
The Piotr Nurowski Prize, now in its 11th year, celebrates the achievements of young athletes and aims to inspire the next generation to embrace the values of Olympism. It was created in 2011 and is decided by the European National Olympic Committees at the International Olympic Academy.
The award comes on the back of Andrea's most successful season to date – a summer that saw her collect a total of seven major senior international medals, including back-to-back Women's 10m Platform titles at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships in Birmingham and Rome respectively. She also earned Women's 10m Synchro gold alongside Lois Toulson at the Europeans, after claiming Mixed 10m Synchro gold and Women's 10m Synchro silver - with Noah Williams and Eden Cheng respectively - at the Commonwealths, all after a brilliant bronze alongside James Heatly in the Mixed Team event at the World Championships in Budapest.
Speaking on her achievement of becoming a finalist in this category, Spendolini-Sirieix was happy to be included in the nominees.
“I am so honoured to be on the shortlist for the 2022 Piotr Nurowski Prize for the Best European Young Athlete. The blood, sweat and tears that have come from training make all these achievements worth it and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to do the sport I love every day," she said.
Annamarie Phelps CBE, British Olympic Association (BOA) Vice Chair and member of the EOC Executive Committee, added: “Everyone at Team GB is delighted to see Andrea recognised in the Piotr Nurowski Prize. She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo last year aged just sixteen, and has firmly established her position on the senior international stage: such pan-European recognition especially in the inspirational setting of Ancient Olympia is a fitting testament to her hard work and tenacity and Piotr would have been delighted to see such young talent rewarded.
"Andrea's recent successes have been remarkable to watch, and with her sights now set firmly on Paris, we will continue to support her every step of the way."