Our athletes honoured
In total, 536 athletes from Hafnarfjörður won Icelandic championship titles during the year in around 30 sports, representing 14 clubs. Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir, a national swimming team member from Hafnarfjörður Swimming Club, was named Hafnarfjörður's female athlete of the year for the seventh consecutive year, and Axel Bóasson, a national golf team member from Keili Golf Club, was named male athlete of the year for the second consecutive year.
Hafnarfjörður's athletes honoured for their achievements of the year. In total, 536 athletes from Hafnarfjörður won Icelandic championship titles during the year in around 30 disciplines from 14 clubs.
The Female and Male Athlete of Hafnarfjörður 2016 were crowned at a ceremony this evening. Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir, a national team swimmer from Hafnarfjörður Swimming Club, was named Hafnarfjörður's Sportswoman for the seventh consecutive year, and Axel Bóasson, a national team golfer from Keili Golf Club, was named Sportsman of the Year for the second consecutive year. The FH men's and women's athletics teams were named Sports Team of the Year. The team are the Icelandic club champions in outdoor athletics and the cup winners in both indoor and outdoor athletics.
Hafnarfjörður's elite athletes were honoured and awarded for their good performance in their respective fields at the Sports Hall on Strandgata earlier this evening, where the municipality's annual Sports and Recognition Gala took place. Hafnarfjörður's Sportswoman, Sportsman and Sports Team of 2016 were crowned, and awards were also presented to athletes from the city who have won Icelandic and cup championships this year, as well as other major titles in international competitions. In total, 536 athletes from Hafnarfjörður have won Icelandic championship titles this year in nearly 30 sports, representing 14 sports clubs. 18 teams have won cup titles and six individuals have become Nordic champions, in addition to two individuals receiving European Championship medals. For the eleventh time, an award was given to a sports team that has excelled, and the team received the honorary title „Hafnarfjörður's Sports Team of 2016”. The FH men's and women's athletics teams received the title this year. Also nominated were the FH men's football first team and the Haukar men's handball first team. At the ceremony, recognition grants from the City of Hafnarfjörður were also awarded to the sports clubs that have won an Icelandic or cup championship title in the top divisions during the year. A total of 16 teams received a combined sum of kr. 4,800,000.- Grants totalling kr. 7,200,000 were also allocated to the sports clubs under an agreement between the City of Hafnarfjörður, Rio Tinto and ÍBH for the sports activities of 16-year-olds and younger.
In total, thousands of individuals have received awards and recognition from the City of Hafnarfjörður, the City Council, and the Hafnarfjörður Sports and Leisure Committee, and more are added to the ranks. It is therefore safe to say that the Healthy City of Hafnarfjörður truly lives up to its name. Eighteen achievers received special recognition for their achievements and performance in their respective sports during the year:
- Motorsport – Aron Jarl Hillers, AÍH
- Dance – Nikita Bazev, DÍH and Hanna Rún Bazev Óladóttir, DÍH
- Gymnastics – Sigríður Hrönn Bergþórsdóttir, Björk
- Athletics – Hilmar Örn Jónsson, FH and Arna Stefanía Guðmundsdóttir, FH
- Golf – Axel Bóasson, Keilir and Guðrún Brá Björgvinsdóttir, Keilir
- Handball – Einar Rafn Eiðsson FH, Janus Daði Smárason Haukar and Maria Innes de Silva Perrera Haukar
- Football – Davíð Þór Viðarsson, FH
- Basketball – Kári Jónsson, Haukar and Helena Sverrisdóttir, Haukar
- Shooting accuracy – Helga Jóhannsdóttir, SÍH
- Swimming – Aron Örn Stefánsson, SH and Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir, SH
- Triathlon – Hjördís Ýr Ólafsdóttir, SH
Athlete of Hafnarfjörður 2016
The 2016 Hafnarfjörður Sportsman is Axel Bóasson of Keilir Golf Club. Axel is one of the best golfers in Iceland today and this year played on the Nordic Tour as a professional golfer in his first year, retaining his place on the tour. Axel became the Keili club champion, won the Borgun tournament, the Securitas tournament, the Eimskip tournament series, was the points champion of the Icelandic Golf Federation, and finished second in the Icelandic Stroke Play Championship. He had a home course average of 69, which has to be considered an incredibly good result. For comparison, the average score on the PGA Tour is 71.3, with the lowest average being 69.1. Axel took part in a number of international tournaments during the year.
Hafnarfjörður's Sportswoman of the Year 2016
The 2016 Hafnarfjörður Sportswoman of the Year is Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir of Hafnarfjörður Swimming Club. Hrafnhildur is a breaststroker and medley swimmer. A multiple Icelandic champion, national record holder and member of the national swimming team. She became the first Icelandic woman to win a medal at a 50m pool European Championship, where she won two silver medals for the 50m breaststroke in a time of 30.91 seconds and the 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:06.45 minutes. and one bronze medal for the 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:22.96. Hrafnhildur competed at the Rio Olympics this summer and achieved the fantastic result of finishing sixth in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:07.18 and 11th in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:24.41. Hrafnhildur's performance is the best ever by an Icelandic swimmer at the Olympic Games. In December, Hrafnhildur competed at the 25m European Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, achieving the fantastic result of setting an Icelandic record in every event she swam, a total of seven. Her results in the individual events at the competition were as follows; 50m breaststroke 13th place with a time of 30.47 sec., 100m breaststroke 1:05.56 14th place, 100m individual medley 11th place with a time of 1:00.31.
Hafnarfjörður's Sports Team 2016
The Hafnarfjörður sports team of 2016 is the men's and women's athletics team of FH. The team are the Icelandic club champions in outdoor athletics, the club cup champions in both indoor and outdoor athletics, and its members enjoyed success at international competitions during the year. Eight national team athletes competed at the Small Nations Championships in Malta, one athlete competed at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and three athletes competed at the Nordic Indoor Athletics Championships. In addition, members took part in a number of junior and youth events abroad with good results.