PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Armand Duplantis is this year’s winner of the Bragdguldet.
Knew it would be completely crazy to oppose that decision.
But I don’t think he should win Swedish sports’ finest prize.
This is a comment. The opinions are the writer’s own.
On Tuesday, the coveted Bragdguldet was awarded for the 99th time in Swedish sports history. The world’s best pole vaulter Armand Duplantis received Sweden’s finest sports award – but was it really fair?
Duplanti’s feat?
In my eyes, “Mondo” is Sweden’s best athlete in 2024, but that is not what this award is about. “Svenska Dagbladet’s gold medal goes to the year’s best Swedish sporting achievement”, can be read in the description of the sports award, which has been awarded since 1925.
READ MORE: Armand Duplantis misses out on the prestigious award as the world’s best
Feat, that is. Armand Duplantis won WC indoor gold, EC outdoor gold, Olympic gold, overall victory in the Diamond League and broke three new world records. Hand on heart, were any of these feats really feats?
That August evening in Paris is the most memorable moment from the Swedish sports year 2024. But Duplantis has become so superior in pole vaulting that it is commonplace, sorry, but it is no feat in my eyes.
Bragdguldet 2024
But that Truls Möregårdh and the national table tennis team did in the summer Olympics, now we are talking about Swedish sporting feats in its true sense. He became the first Swede in 24 years to reach an Olympic final in the singles game and in the team game Sweden reached the Olympic final for the first time ever.
READ MORE: Truls Möregårdh beats Armand Duplantis to win the Jerring prize
The problem here is that there were silver medals in both cases and in order to earn the Gold of Achievement you have to win gold medals, that should be a minimum requirement. Truls, on the other hand, is a big favorite to win the Swedish people’s award, the Jerring Prize, at the Sports Gala in January.
The beach volleyball heroes David Ohman and Jonathan Hellvig are much more suitable candidates for the Swedish feat of the year for 2024. They have also received some undeserved credit for revolutionizing an entire sport and they are more than worthy of receiving the heavy prizes in Swedish sports.
But I’m not bitter about it. Big congratulations to the Achievement Gold, Mondo!
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