Serbian javelin thrower Adriana Vilagos and US sprinter Erriyon Knighton were named World Athletics Rising Stars of 2022. It was a season of back-to-back successes for this year’s Rising Stars.
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Vilagos successfully defended her world U20 javelin title, doing so with a championship record of 63.52m and breaking the European U20 record in the process. Less than three months later, she claimed silver at the senior European Championships in Munich.
“Defending my world U20 title in Colombia was my main goal, but winning a medal at the European Championships was the biggest surprise,” said Vilagos. “It was a good year and this award crowns it.”
Knighton, meanwhile, has been named Rising Star for the second year in a row. He clocked a lifetime best of 19.49 in April which couldn’t be ratified as a world U20 record, but he went on to break the mark officially at the US Championships, where he ran 19.69. He followed that with a bronze medal at the World Championships in Oregon, then went on to achieve victories on the Continental Tour and Diamond League circuit.
Remarkably, both Rising Stars will still be U20 athletes for 2023.
“Winning this award back to back means my talent is getting recognised on a bigger stage,” said Knighton, the first athlete ever to win two Rising Star awards. “I’ve put in the work to achieve this and I’m very grateful.”
