European Athletics is delighted to announce the nominations for the 2007 Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year. The on-line poll to choose the winners is now open from a short-list of 29 men and 23 women, with voting taking place on the European Athletics website until September 25. The list was compiled by selecting the athlete of the year in each event, based largely on performances in the major championships, along with the 7 male and female European Athletes of the Month winners since January 2007 plus other exceptional athletes. The winners of the Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year will be decided by votes from the general public, media, European Athletics Member Federations, and an expert panel with the results from each group of voters counting for one quarter of the athlete's final score. Each voter must select their five preferred athletes and rank them in order of priority. Members of the public who vote will be automatically entered into a prediction competition. Entrants who have voted for the top three male and female athletes in the correct order in the poll will be entered into a draw to win an expenses paid trip for two to the SPAR European Cup in Annecy on June 21-22, 2008. There will also be some runners-up prizes. Speaking about the new award, European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said: "2007 was another great year for the sport in Europe and it was pleasing to see the re-emergence of some established powers such as Great Britain, Germany and Italy in this year's major championships, as well as gold medals for some of our smaller federations such as Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Portugal and Czech Republic. Over the summer, we witnessed packed stadiums of athletics spectators entertained throughout Europe and the fact that 23 countries have an athlete nominated for the overall Waterford Crystal Athlete of the year award is testament to the spread of the sport throughout the continent" The winners of the Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year will be invited to receive their awards at the European Athletics Calendar Conference in Malta on October 12th. The European Athlete of the Year award was introduced by European Athletics in 1993 and this year is the 15th time the trophy will be awarded. Last year, Portuguese sprinter, Francis Obikwelu and Swedish heptathlete, Carolina Kluft, were named Waterford Crystal European Athletes of the Year and both are in contention again for this year's award. Click on Logo to Vote David Gillick and Alistair Cragg are on the list