There was no doubt among Dagbladet readers about who would win the popular sports award in 2023.
At the top – as has been the case for most of the 2023 calendar year – is Viktor Hovland with the prestigious award that Dagbladet holds every year.
-I really appreciate receiving the Popular Sports Award. Thank you very much to Dagbladet readers, Hovland wrote in a letter to Dagbladet.
With 32% of the votes, the Oslo boy was well below average in votes. Hovland ousted Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard, both of whom had impressive seasons on the football pitch.
Braut Haaland and Odegaard came in second and third place in the vote, obtaining fourteen and thirteen percent of the votes, respectively.
In other words, there was no doubt about who Dagbladet readers think is the biggest sporting name of 2023.
Huge year
Hovland can look forward to a massive 2023 – a year that has been a true breakthrough on the golf course for the 26-year-old.
Jubilee: Viktor Hovland celebrates his FedEx Cup win. (Photo: AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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Hovland set scoring records and became the first Norwegian ever to play in and win the PGA Qualifiers.
Hovland also played a big role when Europe beat the USA in the Ryder Cup this fall and is one of golf's stars through 2023.
He struggles to find a highlight, and is happy to share three of them with Dagbladet readers.
Major Accomplishment: Viktor Hovland achieved one of the biggest wins of his career with his victory at the Memorial Tournament. Photograph: Dylan Boyle/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP
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-After an eventful year, it's hard to find a highlight to put at the top. The three biggest strokes were probably when she had a 27-stroke on the “back nine” at BMW (the championship), a 63-stroke in the final round in the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup win, according to Hovland.
long story
Dagbladet has been awarded the People's Sports Award since 1990 and is one of the most prestigious sports awards in Norway. The Ekeberg man now joins the exclusive list of past winners of the 'Popular Sports Award'.
The winners, all voted on by Dagbladet readers, are a collection of the biggest names in Norwegian sport over the past three decades, but Hovland is the first golfer to make it to the competition.
In recent years, summer sports have taken over the vote among Dagbladet readers, and we have to go back to 2015 to find the latest winter sports star to take home the award.
This time, it was Peter Northug who won the hearts and votes of Dagbladet readers, having risen again in the Falun toilet with four gold medals.
Subsequently, track and field star Carsten Warholm won the award three times, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen once. In addition, Magnus Carlsen and Bodo/Glimt have both won the award in recent years.
In 2022, tennis star Casper Ruud won.
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