Košice and Czecho-Slovak hockey legend Igor Liba was rewarded with an award for the Sports Personality of the Year 2017 (ŠOK) within the category Legend. Public inquiry carried out by the agency Progress Promotion under the aegis of Košice sports academy took place on March 10, in Košice in presence of the President of the Slovak Olympic Committee Anton Siekel and other important personalities from the field of sport in Košice.

Igor Liba was nominated and rewarded together with two other nominees- a wrestler Mikuláš Athanasov (In Memoriam) and an excellent football player Ján Pivovarník.

The president of HC Košice Július Lang congratulated Igor Liba on the reward right at scene.

Nomination:

When introducing Igor Liba, we should definitely begin with the Ice Hockey World Championship in Prague in 1985, when the forwards Lukáč – Rusnák – Liba were one of the key aspects to gain success. He gained silver and bronze medals in the jersey of our national team on the Olympic games, and several precious metals from the World Championships, where he represented Czechoslovakia for more than a decade. He has a record of 211 starts in the national jerseys on his credit, and that is historically the most among all other Slovak players and at the end of his career he performed also for the newly-formed Slovak national team. His balance in the league is perfect as well, there might not be a goalie that he had not overcome, in 589 matches, in the federal league and Slovak extra league he scored 285 goals. Perhaps, he liked the orange-black VSŽ jersey the most, in which he gained 2 champion trophies (1986 and 1988), he has 2 trophies from the times of his military service in Dukla Jihlava (1983 and 1984) and one from the Slovak league with VSŽ from 1999. He is the only one among the Slovak hockey players who performed as a forward together with legendary Wayne Gretzky wearing the jersey of NHL Los Angeles Kings. Igor Liba was announced the best Czecho-Slovak hockey player as the winner of the quest Zlatá hokejka (Golden hockey stick), in 1984. Nowadays, he gives his time to bring up excellent hockey players in a hockey academy named after him. (source: http://www.sportovaosobnost.sk)

PHOTO: HC Košice