Athlete of the Year aims to win Gold at The World Games
28-year-old Muaythai World Champion Sofia Olofsson (SWE) is the IWGA Athlete of the Year 2016. She won the voting by a big margin ahead of Sport Climber Marcin Dzienski from Poland, with 15,816 votes against Dzienski’s 12,499. Sofia Olofsson was the first female Muaythai fighter to have qualified for The World Games 2017.
On Instagram, Olofsson stated: “I am SO happy and grateful for all your support. 15 816 votes is amazing, and the votes did not just come from Sweden but all over the world. To have IFMA and WMC behind you doesn't hurt either :) Their tireless commitment for me was truly great.” and added later: “Now I will enjoy this award and then get back to training to try to win The World Games in Poland this summer :)”
In 2016, Sofia Olofsson won the IFMA World Championships in Sweden and was selected as the best female athlete at the event.
”It was really nerve-wracking to have the World Championships on home ground. I was actually so nervous, I cried in the locker room just before the final. Right now I am extremely happy, but most of all relieved,” Sofia Olofsson told SVT Sport in Sweden, immediately after her victory.
Last year was a real break-through for Olofsson. She had earlier won bronze at the IFMA World Championships and gold at the IFMA European Championships, but in 2016 she won gold at the IFMA World Championships, the WMC European Championships and the WMC World Championships. No wonder her fans thought she was worthy of the title IWGA Athlete of the Year!
Sofia Olofsson started competing in sport at an early age. She first started playing handball, and at the age of 16 she was already playing with women in the city team. But then she found Muaythai, and liked the idea that you train as a team, but when you’re in the ring it is you against your opponent. She concludes: “If you haven’t trained hard enough, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
The IWGA Athlete of the Year trophy will be presented to Sofia Olofsson in cooperation with the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur.
Here are the final voting numbers and standings for all the candidates.
