European Athletics (EAA) – News – Lavillenie and Trost voted European Athletes of the Month for January

European Athletics is pleased to announce that French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and Italian high jump prodigy Alessia Trost have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for January.

Unbeaten in four competitions this winter, Lavillenie, the 2012 Olympic and European champion cleared a world-leading height of 5.92m in Rouen on 26 January. He subsequently improved his world lead to 5.94m in Metz on 24 February.

The 2012 World Junior Championships gold medallist Trost also remained unbeaten this year and went over a world-leading 2.00m in Trinec, Czech Republic on 29 January. The 19-year-old will be among the front runners for the top prize at the European Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in Göteborg through 1-3 March.

Romania's Marian Oprea, the former Olympic, World Championships and European medallist is the only man in the world over the 17-metre barrier this year after he bounded out to 17.17m in Bucharest on 25 January, and was voted second in the men's poll. Spain's Luis Alberto Marco, who set a world-leading time of 1:46.96 for the 800m in Valencia on 27 January, finished third.

In the women's poll, Ireland's Fionnuala Britton, the two-time SPAR European Cross Country Championships gold medallist, continued her outstanding run of form with title wins at the Edinburgh and Antrim IAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings on 5 and 12 January respectively, and was voted second. She was followed by former European 100m champion Verena Sailer of Germany, who sped to a European-leading time of 7.16 when winning at the British Athletics Glasgow International match, a European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting, on 26 January. Her European lead was subsequently improved to 7.12 by Mariya Ryemyen of the Ukraine in Moscow on 3 February.

The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe.

European Athletics names a male and female winner each month and features the athlete on the European Athletics website.

European Athletics (EAA) – News