The golfer Jon Rahm and the soccer player Alexa Putellas were chosen the best athletes of 2021 but until this Tuesday the corresponding awards have not been delivered in a ceremony that the Kings have presided over at the El Pardo palace, in which they have not been able to be present the recent winner of the Augusta Master. The Higher Sports Council (CSD) elects each year the best athletes and entities that, either through their direct activity or personal initiative, or as participants in the development of sports policy, have contributed significantly to promoting or disseminating the activity physical-sports.
The King Felipe award for the best Spanish athlete of the year has gone to the Basque golfer Jon Rahm Rodríguez, who climbed to the first place in the world ranking and in 2021 won the United States Open.
Alexia Putellas has received the Queen Letizia award for the best Spanish athlete of the year. The Catalan soccer player culminated a brilliant 2021 in which her victories in the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa de la Reina with FC Barcelona stand out, as well as making history by winning the Ballon d'Or.
The other awards handed out bear the names of the rest of the royal family. The Rey Juan Carlos prize for the revelation athlete, male or female, went to the climber from Extremadura, Alberto Ginés; the Reina Sofía for fair play and the eradication of violence (sexism, racism, homophobia or any of its expressions) in sport for the Navarro Sports Institute.
Princess Leonor has given its name to the prize for the best athlete, male or female under 18 years of age, which has been deserved by the Madrid taekwodista Adriana Cerezo, while the Infanta Sofía prize goes to the person, entity or institution that has stood out especially in the sport of people with disabilities, inclusive or paralympic sport or in its promotion has been for the National Hospital for Paraplegics of Toledo.
They have also seen their work recognized by the Venezuelan athlete Yuilmar Rojas; the mixed Olympic shooting team, made up of Fátima Gálvez and Alberto Fernández; the Real Grupo de Cultura Covadonga for its promotion of grassroots sports; the Murcian municipality of Águilas; the Hermenegildo Lanz High School in Granada; the Podoactiva Center of Huesca; sports promoter Conrado Durántez.
To attend this event, Queen Letizia has chosen a leather skirt and a coral-colored silk blouse.
