Carlos Alcaraz and Izan Almansa receive the National Sports Awards at the Royal Palace

2022 was the year of the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz, who was proclaimed champion of the US Open and closed the season as number 1 in world tennis, for which he was awarded the King Felipe Prize as the best Spanish athlete. The visually impaired triathlete Susana Rodríguez, current Paralympic champion who won world and European gold in 2022, received the Queen Letizia Award. The Galician is the first athlete with a disability, woman or man, to win this category of these awards.

In addition, the Princess Leonor Award, which is awarded to the best athlete under 18 years of age, was collected by the basketball player Izan Almansa, European champion with the under-18 team and runner-up in the under-17 world championship in 2022 and in both cases as 'MVP'. The man from Murcia, who will play in the NBA next season, is the last exponent of the golden age of regional sport.

Others awards

The National Awards recognize the people and entities that have distinguished themselves the most in competition or in the promotion of sport throughout the year. In this edition, as a novelty, the European Union Trophy was incorporated.

The Madrid Down Syndrome Foundation won the Infanta Sofía Award, which rewards the person, entity or institution that, through its own sporting performance or by promoting the activity of others, has stood out especially in the sport of people with disabilities. , inclusive or Paralympic sport or that has promoted and enabled sporting activity among people with any type of disability.

The Spanish-Cuban jumper Jordan Díaz was awarded the King Juan Carlos Award, which is awarded to the revelation of the year, and the Reina Sofía Award, which rewards 'fair play' or the eradication of any type of violence in sport. It was for the journalists Paloma del Río and Antonio Pampliega for their involvement in the defense of women under the Taliban threat and assistance to immigrants.

The Barón de Güell Cup, which rewards the most outstanding national team or selection, went to the Spanish skating team, which in the 2022 World Games achieved 40 medals and placed on the podium in all the categories in which it was represented, while RC Mediterráneo de Málaga was recognized with the Stadium Cup for its special contribution to the promotion, dissemination and promotion of sport, especially grassroots sport. Former handball player Raúl Entrerríos was awarded the Francisco Fernández Ochoa National Award for his career.

In addition, the Pan American Cycling Confederation was recognized with the Ibero-American Community Trophy, in honor of the centenary of its founding, and, as the main novelty and coinciding with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Union Trophy went to the Czech skier Ester Ledecka, current Olympic snowboard parallel giant slalom champion.

The Higher Sports Council Award, intended for the Spanish local entity that has stood out the most for its initiatives to promote sports, went to the Getafe City Council for the 'Getafe Ciudad Diversa' program, which pursues integration and equality and which aims to eradicate violence and discrimination, and the University of Alicante was awarded the Joaquín Blume Trophy for its commitment to sport, offering high-quality facilities accessible to the university community. Finally, the National Award for Arts and Sciences Applied to Sports was awarded to Alberto Palomar, Contentious-Administrative Magistrate, Doctor of Law and reference in sports law.