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Adriana Vilagos of Serbia and Erriyon Knighton of USA have been named the Rising Stars of 2022 at the 2022 World Athletics Awards. The winners were announced on December 5 by World Athletics.
Adriana won the Female Rising Star of 2022 after her exceptional performance this year. The Serbian athlete recorded 15 top-three finishes out of the 16 javelin competitions she competed in. She has consistently thrown beyond 60 meters in 2022.
In 2022, Adriana finished first in the 2022 European Throwing Cup, 2022 Balkan Championships, 2022 Mediterranean Games, and 2022 World U20 Championships. At the 2022 European Championships in Munich, she won a silver medal in the javelin throw.
Erriyon Knighton has won his second consecutive Rising Star of the Year award. He previously won the award back in 2021. Knighton won a bronze medal in the men's 200-meter at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Erriyon Knighton was also the youngest winner of a Diamond League race when he won the 200-meter event during the 2022 Diamond League in Brussels. In June 2022, the Florida-born sprinter completed the 200-meter event in 19.69 seconds during the USA Outdoor T&F Championships.
Adriana Vilagos speaks after winning the Female Rising Star of the Year at the 2022 World Athletics Awards
In a video posted on the Twitter account of World Athletics after Adriana Vilagos was announced as the Female Rising Star of the Year during the 2022 World Athletics Awards, Adriana said
"I'm an 18 years old student with big dreams in sport, who I really hope that will be strong and tenacious enough to make them come true. My mum and I went a long way since my first vortex throw, but we are still at the beginning of our journey. It was a fantastic year."
Adriana Vilagos continued,
"I went to the Munich this European Championship without any major ambitions and it's still unbelievable that it went so well. I finished in a such a tough competition ahead of legends like Barbora Spotakova with whom even to compete, it's an honor."
Adriana also stated that she is still at the beginning of her career. She will train hard to keep improving and she has hopes that her career will last for a long time.
Erriyon Knighton opens up after winning the Male Rising Star of the Year award for the second time
In a video posted on the World Athletics Twitter account, Erriyon said:
"I received this award last year and just that I got it again, it just goes to say that I'm really gaining the recognition that I always wanted in life. To describe 22, it's just a lot of, I mean every year there is gonna be hard work, I really don't feel this is my breakout year. I mean I've still ten more years to come in the near future. And I think I'm just really scratching the surface. Just a little."
He further added,
"How I have visioned my journey in this sport is just, not rushing the process and sticking to my training, not rushing to get times or not rushing to try and be the best because I feel like in my journey, it's always there is gonna be a time and a place for everything. When that time and place comes, then I feel like that's when I will arrive. I'm really blessed to do this at a young age and I'm making a name for myself already."
The Rising Star Award winner said that he is blessed to be achieving at a young age and stated that he is already making a name for himself.
