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Obikwelu is named athlete of year

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LONDON, England -- Portugal's Francis Obikwelu, the fastest European sprinter in history, has been named Europe's male athlete of the year for 2006.

The Olympic 100m silver medallist won both sprints at the European Championships in Gothenburg last year, dipping under 10 seconds over the shorter distance.

Obikwelu, who holds the European 100m record of 9.86 seconds, won 16 elite 100m races in 2006 and six top class 200m.

"The award means the world to me and I am really honored to have won it," Obikwelu told the European Athletics Web site.

"I've had a really good season in 2006 and this just tops it off."

European discus champion Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania was second with Norwegian javelin thrower Andreas Thorkildesn third in the European Athletics Associations poll, which was open to member federations, the media and the public.

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