Sportske novosti awards

The award, one of several Yugoslav national-level sporting honors, was given every year for the next four decades, until 1990, when it was discontinued due to the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatia's independence.

Before independence, in 1952 the newspaper had launched a parallel award for Croatian athletes, which honored best sporting achievements by any athlete hailing from SR Croatia, then a republic within Yugoslavia.

Since SN remains the only specialized sports daily in the country, the prize is regarded as one of the two most prestigious sports awards in Croatia, on par with the annual awards handed out by the Croatian Olympic Committee.

In the women's category, the all-time record holder is discus thrower Sandra Perković with nine wins (2012–22), followed by alpine skier Janica Kostelić with eight (1998–2006), and high jumper Blanka Vlašić with six (2004–11).

This table lists the total number of awards for individual sportsmen and sportswomen by recipients' sporting profession.

Goran Ivanišević , five-time winner of the award between 1992 and 2001.
Heavyweight boxer Željko Mavrović , winner in 1995 and 1997.
Tennis player Ivan Ljubičić , two-time winner, in 2005 and 2006.
Handball player Ivano Balić , 2007 winner.
Alpine skier Ivica Kostelić , five-time winner, from 2002 to 2011.
Real Madrid footballer Luka Modrić , two-time winner, in 2018 and 2022.
Iva Majoli , who won four consecutive awards in 1994–97.
Alpine skier Janica Kostelić , eight-time winner in the period from 1998 to 2006.
High jumper Blanka Vlašić , who won the award six times in 2004 and in 2007–11.
Discus thrower Sandra Perković , who won nine awards in 2012-19 and in 2022.