Courtesy: LEN
World Junior champions Kirill Boliukh and Kuzey Tuncelli, of Ukraine and Turkey respectively, have been revealed as finalists for the 2023 edition of the EOC’s Piotr Nurowski Prize.
The prestigious award recognizes athletes between the ages of 14-18 who have not only excelled in their sport, but also embodied the Olympic Values both inside and outside of competition during the previous 12 months.
The winner of this year’s Piotr Nurowski Best Youth European Athlete Prize will be revealed at the 52nd EOC General Assembly in Istanbul on 6 October 2023.
They and the other four finalists will receive funding support, via training scholarships.
Sixteen-year-old diver Boliukh helped secure his nation a quota place for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by claiming World Championship silver alongside Oleskii Sereda in the synchronized 10m platform event in Fukuoka, Japan, this summer.
He also claimed two gold medals at the European Games and claimed two individual titles at the World Junior Championships late last year.
Tuncelli, a 16-year-old swimmer, secured two Paris 2024 quota places – in the 800m and 1500m freestyle disciplines – for Türkiye.
He also claimed two World Junior titles and set a new European Junior 1500m record while claiming the European Junior title in Belgrade this summer.
Last year the EOC’s Piotr Nurowski Prize, which has been running since 2011, acknowledged the achievements of Britain’s senior European and Commonwealth champion diver Andrea Spendolini-Siriexi, who was second.
At least one aquatic athlete has been named in the top-three in 10 of the 11 previous editions of the EOC’s Piotr Nurowski Prize for summer sports.
Notable previous winners include swimmers David Popovici of Romania (2021) and Ruta Meilutyte (2012, 2013), while British diver Tom Daley took third at the inaugural event in 2011.