Athlete of the Year: The King of Athletes wins – shock for girls | EUROtoday

Even with out the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup, high German athletes can look again on a sporting 12 months filled with highlights. Most just lately, the handball gamers brought about a sensation and unprecedented enthusiasm for his or her workforce on the World Cup by taking part in their means spectacularly to the ultimate. The proven fact that they misplaced to the massive favorites Norway does not change something. They stood as much as the dominant workforce.

However, the silver coup got here too late to be voted workforce of the 12 months. Clear favourite: The German basketball gamers, who, after successful the 2023 World Cup, have now additionally secured the European Championship title. The males’s hockey workforce additionally brought about enthusiasm once they gained gold on the European Championships and the ladies’s soccer gamers on the European Championships – though the latter misplaced to Spain within the semi-finals.

This Sunday night, within the festively adorned Bénazet Hall of the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, the “Sportsman of the Year” gala seemed again on these and different successes, on comebacks, on cheers, tears and onerous fights. The conventional occasion befell for the 79th time, with present and former German world-class athletes as soon as once more doing the honors this 12 months.

The first award went to “Sportsman of the Year” – decathlon world champion Leo Neugebauer. He was already within the high three within the rating final 12 months: again then as Olympic runner-up behind Olympic champion Lukas Märtens (swimming) and rowing large Oliver Zeidler.

Franziska Preuß in entrance of Darja Varfolomeev

This time, second and third locations went to swimmer Florian Wellbrock {and professional} bike owner Florian Lipowitz. Wellbrock gained 4 open water gold medals in 5 days on the World Championships in Singapore – and thus celebrated an excellent comeback after his Olympic debacle in Paris.

Lipowitz celebrated his ultimate breakthrough this 12 months and brought about a brand new biking euphoria on this nation with third place general within the Tour de France.

Biathlete Franziska Preuß was honored as “Sportswoman of the Year 2025” in Baden-Baden, having proven an exceptional final season and in the end securing victory within the general World Cup within the final race and really narrowly – the best success of her profession.

Preuß had already gained the primary World Cup particular person gold of her profession a month earlier; However, successful the general World Cup meant much more to her. “This is truly one of the greatest accomplishments you can achieve,” she mentioned.

Darja Varfolomeev was really thought of the favourite for the title of “Sportswoman of the Year”. The 19-year-old had already obtained this award final 12 months after her Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics – in 2025 she thrilled and enchanted once more: Varfolomeev celebrated particular person gold 4 instances on the World Championships and in addition gained with the workforce. In the athlete vote, she ended up with 48 factors, simply behind Preuß.

Through her successes, her model and her life story, Varfolomeev has now managed to carry her sport into the limelight on this nation. When the World Championships are held in Frankfurt subsequent summer season (August twelfth to sixteenth), the spectator stands are more likely to be full.

Swimmer Anna Elendt, who sensationally turned world champion within the 100 meter breaststroke, took third place.

After 2023, the basketball gamers will win once more

The successor to the 3×3 basketball gamers, who sensationally gained silver in Paris in 2024, is the nationwide basketball workforce led by Dennis Schröder. Already in 2023, after the sensational World Cup coup, they’d gained the election for “Team of the Year”.

And that is how the election works: The preselection for the record of candidates comes from the squad athletes themselves, who’ve created a high 15 record for every class. Then greater than 3,000 members of the Association of German Sports Journalists had the chance to submit one to 5 factors for the athlete and workforce of the 12 months.