2014 Best Sportsmen and Sportswomen Award Finalists

Men"s Category:

WINNER with 45 points: Vitaly OBOTIN (Russian Federation) - Swimming:
Born 22.05.1992, Vitaly Obotin of the Russian Federation earned six (6) gold and two (2) silver medals in 2013 at the 11th European Deaf Swimming Championships in Saransk (Russia). The events he competed in and medaled were:
- 200m freestyle (Gold)
- 200m Individual Medley (Gold)
- 400m Individual Medley (Gold)
- 4x100m freestyle relay (Gold)
- 4x200m freestyle relay (Gold)
- 4x100m Medley relay (Gold)
- 400m freestyle (Silver)
- 1500m freestyle (Silver)
Obotin also contributed to creating two (2) European Deaf Records in 200m Medley, 400m Medley and a World record in 4x100m freestyle relay.

FINALIST with 44 points: Hugo PASSOS (Portugal) - Wrestling, Greco-Roman:
Born 27.09.1979, Hugo Passos of Portugal has won the following:
- Gold at the World Deaf Games in Rome – 2001
- Gold at the Deaflympics in Melbourne - 2005
- A champion title at the World Deaf Wrestling Championships -2008
- Gold and Bronze at the Deaflympics in Taipei- 2009
- A champion title at the World Champion Greco-Roman Wrestling - 2012
- Gold at the Deaflympics in Sofia – 2013
Passos qualified as a lone wrestler for the Portuguese squad in his weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

FINALIST with 34 points: Miha ZUPAN (Slovenia) - Basketball:
Born 13.09.1982, Miha Zupan of Slovenia has proven his accomplishments through basketball:

- Was recently been nominated to play for Slovenia National hearing team
- Participated in the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Spain (a hearing championship) of which his team had reached the last eight finals and ranked 7th place. For more statistics and photos, check the link:
http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldcup/2014/Miha-ZUPAN
- Received a professional contract by Usak Sportlif in Pro League in Turkey and play in starting five, also in Europe Cup ULEB in this season
- Participated in 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey
- Was a recipient of the 2010 Deaf Sportsmen of the Year award

FINALIST with 24 points: Yoshikazu KANAJI (Japan) - Swimming:
Born 13.02.1994, Yoshikazu Kanaji of Japan has proven his accomplishments since making his debut in the World Championship in 2011:
From that time, he won several medals at various competitions. In this year 2014, he participated in several domestic official competitions and he set a new deaf world record at the 901" Japan Inter College Swimming Championship 2014. He has got the highest attention to be expected to play a full active part in the future.

FINALIST with 17 points: Shawkat ELNAGAR (Egypt) - Football:
Born 01.18.1972, Shawkat Elnagar of Egypt has a list of accomplishments as a football player:

-Top scorer for the Egyptian league 2014
-Winner of the General league's Cup
-Egyptian National Team's Coach since 1990
-Third (3rd) place at the Arabian Nations Cup, Jordan
First (1st) place at the Arabian Championship, Jordan 2010
First (1st) place at the African qualifying for the World Cup, Kenya 2011
First (1st) place at the African qualifying for the Deaflympics, South Africa 2011
Second (2nd) place Egyptian National team's Coach at the World cup 2012
Third (3rd) place World Scorer at the Deaflympics 2013 Sofia


Women"s Category:
WINNER with 41 points: Nadezda KORABLINOVA (Russian Federation) - Bowling:
Born 25.04.1986, Nadezda Korablinova of the Russian Federation won all six (6) gold medals in all events at the 10th European Deaf Bowling Championships in Vienna (Austria). She got second (2nd) place in Masters.

FINALIST with 39 points: Long HOI (Macau) – Triathlon:
Born 26.07.1984, Macau"s Long Hoi demonstrated her performance as an elite triathlete with the following accomplishments:

-Kenyir Lake International Triathlon, 2014 (Women Overall Champion)
-Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup 2014 (Women Elite 2nd place)
-Gamagori ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup 2014 (Women Elite 6th place)
-New Taipei ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup 2014 (Women Elite 1st place)
-Asian Games Incheon 2014 Triathlon Race (Women Elite 5th place)
-Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup 2014 (Women Elite 1st place)
-2014 ITU (International Triathlon Union) Asian Ranking #6, World Ranking #134


FINALIST with 35 points: Joana SANTOS (Portugal) – Judo:
Born 11.02.1990, Joana Santos of Portugal has a list of accomplishments in judo:

- Was a World champion in 2008
- Gold medal in 2009 Deaflympics, Taipei
- Was a vice champion of judo in the world of Margarita, Venezuela
- Was a Champion in the open world of Margarita, Venezuela
- Silver medal in 2013 Deaflympics, Sofia
- Was a National Champion in 2014
- Was National runner-up in Portuguese Judo Federation - Sports for Listeners (2014)

FINALIST with 33 points: Moe UEDA (Japan) - Table Tennis:
Born 27.11.1989, Japan"s Moe Ueda has participated in international competitions since 2008 and has grown to be an unbeatable player with the following accomplishments:

- Gold medal in women"s singles, 2013 Deaflympics, Sofia 47th National Games for The
- Gold medal in women"s singles, 36th National deaf table tennis championships. December 2013
- First round women"s singles, Empress's Cup All-Japan table tennis championship, January 2014
-Recipient of Prize of the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, December 2013
-Recipient of Special Award of Japanese Para-Sports Association, February 2014
-Recipient of Honors by Japan Table Tennis Association, December 2013
-Recipient of Sports Honor Award by Kyoto Prefecture, September 2013
-Recipient of the Best Athlete Award by Maizuru City, Kyoto, August 2013
-Recipient of the Best Athlete Award by Ibaraki Prefecture Sports Association, February 2014
-Recipient of Welfare and Culture Award by Commission for Welfare and Culture, June 2014