Sportspeople of the Year - 2019 candidates announced

The best sportspeople of the past year will be recognised in a multitude of categories at this month's prestigious M4 Sport - Sportspeople of the Year gala.

At Monday's press conference held at the National Theatre by the Hungarian Sports Journalists' Association, the lists of the remaining three candidates in each category was announced.

Potential award winners were nominated by members of MSÚSZ, as well as by experts and writers invited by the Hungarian Paralympic Committee for those categories involving disabled sportspeople, a total of 399 votes, being cast as the identities of those on the podia was decided.

The male footballers taking their places in the top three are Dénes Dibusz, Péter Gulácsi and Dominik Szoboszlai while in the women's category, Henrietta Csiszár, Zsanett Jakabfi and Fanni Vágó will vye for top spot.

For the goal of the year, fans were again able to vote for the top three on the M4 Sport website this year, those scorers successful in reaching this stage turing out to be Tokmac Nguen, Dániel Gazdag and FIFA Puskás Award winner Daniel Zsóri. Unlike in previous years, the winner will be selected by a professional jury, following a practice used by FIFA to decide the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2019.

In addition to the above awards, the Hungarian Football Association's Lifetime Merit award will again be presented again, after its winner is decided by the MLSZ presidency.

The gala, which will be hosted by experienced M4 presenter Viktor Tihany, will feature 14 awards and a spectacular show, with 177 performers on stage and a tribute to the Hungarian medallists of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Amongst others, the popular Bagossy Brothers Company and the Hungarian national dance team will also give performances.

The three remaining candidates in each category:

Men:
Norbert Michelisz (racing driver)
Kristóf Milák (swimmer)
Alexander Liu Shaolin (short-track speed-skater)

Women:
Tamara Csipes (kayak)
Katinka Hosszú (swimmer)
Boglárka Kapás (swimmer)

coaches:
Gábor Danyi (Győr, women's handball)
Attila Selmeci (Kristóf Milák)
Zsolt Varga (FTC, water polo)

Team of the Year (teams from traditionally-individual sports):
Men's short-track speed-skating (Sándor Liu Shaolin, Liu Shaoang, Csaba Burján, Cole Krueger, Alex Varnyú)
Women's kayak four (Alida Dóra Gazsó, Tamara Csipes, Erika Medveczky, Dóra Bodonyi)
Women's tennis Doubles (Tímea Babos, Kristina Mladenovic)

Team of the Year (classic team sports):
FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (men's water polo)
Győri Audi ETO KC (women's handball)
Women's national ice hockey team

Men's Footballer of the Year:
Dénes Dibusz (Ferencváros)
Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig)
Dominik Szoboszlai (Salzburg)

Women's Footballer of the Year:
Henrietta Csiszár (Bayer Leverkusen)
Zsanett Jakabfi (VfL Wolfsburg)
Fanni Vágó (St. Pölten, Ferencváros)

Sportspeople with disabilities:
Women:
Luca Ekler (athlete)
Fanni Illés (swimmer)
Lívia Latinovics (special gymnast)

Men:
Szebasztián Juhász (Special Olympics gymnast)
Péter Pál Kiss (para kayak-canoe)
Tamás Mihálovits (organ-transplant athlete)

Team:
Basketball national team (Hungarian Special Olympics Association)
Football nationa team (Hungarian Special Olympics Association)
Women's national wheelchair-fencing team (Hungarian Paralympic Committee)

Coaches:
István Pruzsina (Hungarian Paralympic Committee, kajak-canoeing, Péter Pál Kiss)
Álmos Szabó (Hungarian Paralympic Committee, para-sailing, Fanni Illés, Evelin Száraz)
László Szalma (Hungarian Paralympic Committee, athletics, Luca Ekler)

At the press conference, certain other awards were already announced, such as, for the first time, for the Leisure-Sports Event of the Year, for winners at the Family Sports Day of the Union of Budapest Sports Federations; and for Tamás Kiss, the e-sportsman of the year, who was the only Hungarian player to be ranked with his team among the top eight in the world championship.