体坛英语新闻：Orienteer Kauppi voted Finland's best athlete of 2010

HELSINKI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Finnish female orienteer Minna Kauppi was voted Finland's best athlete of 2010 in the annual Sports Gala event held here on Monday evening.

Kauppi has won 2604 votes from Finnish sports journalists and editors to become the first ever orienteer that crowned the title in the annual event since 1947.

She beat the forecast winner, Finnish figure-skating star Laura Lepisto by a margin of 149 votes.

In the World Orienteering Championships held in Trondheim of Norway last August, Kauppi won a gold medal in the women's individual middle distance event and won another by the victory of Finnish team in the relay race.

Besides that, Finland men's national floorball team, which won the gold medal of Men's Floorball World Championship last December, was voted Finland's best sports team of 2010.

Kai Suikkanen, the coach of last year's Finnish ice-hockey champion club, was awarded Finland's best coach of 2010.