Panathlon Antwerp Sport Personalities 2017 report
The yearly Sports Personalities evening was traditionally held at the University of Antwerp on February 15, 2018.
The ceremony started with Welcome words by Luc Verguts, Panathlon Antwerp President, who stressed the importance of Ethics and Fair Play in sports. Then guest speaker, Willy Van Hove – famous Belgian announcer at a lot of Belgian running and athletics events – spoke about the magic of the marathon.
Five students of the University of Antwerp who successfully combine their studies with their sports career were nominated for the Honorary Rector Francis Van Loon Award 2017. University of Antwerp students jad voted in the previous weeks and out of five nominees Basten Caerts, Belgian swim champion and Social-Economic Sciences student who broke no less than 7 Belgian records in 2017, was awarded the trophy.
The Panathlon Antwerp Sport Personality Award 2017 has been presented to
Hanna Mariën, former sprinter and bobsledder (gold 4x100m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 6th place two-man bobsleigh at the 2014 Sochi Olympics) for the valuable contribution she has made to Ethics in Sports during her active career and afterwards.
A special addition to the Sport Personality awards ceremony was the first exposition of the 15 selected art works of the PCU Drawing Contest 2017, which the guests were able to see before the selection of the three winners.
