Kiel Athlete of the Year 2025: Nominees & Voting

Like. The year 2025 was one of upheaval on many levels. Also in sport and with many clubs and athletes from Kiel. This is not unusual after the Olympic Games, when decisions are made about ending a career or starting a new campaign, and there are new tasks and framework conditions.

There were also changes at the big Kiel clubs. KSV Holstein moved into the second division after the second half of the Bundesliga, and THW Kiel said goodbye to Patrick Wiencek. But there are also constants. Domagoj Duvnjak is one of those, despite saying goodbye to the national team.

Who will be Kiel’s athlete of the year 2025?

The defending champion will be challenged in the election for Kiel Athlete of the Year 2025 by a world champion teammate and two Holstein-Kiel professionals; sailors, rowers and a track and field athlete, beach volleyball player and judoka have also qualified for the vote with strong performances and titles.

It is not possible to defend the women’s title – Angelique Kerber has ended her career. But there could be a “repeat offender” in Anna Behlen (beach volleyball). Or does an obstacle runner jump over the really big hurdle? Does a young judoka triumph? Is the hour approaching for a sport to be included in the Olympics for the first time in 2028? Or will a sailing crew make the step from the “surprise of the year” to the “big” title?

Who is the surprise of 2025?

Speaking of surprises: This year we are once again looking for the athletes who surprised you the most. Three athletes with a wow effect are nominated: Lasse Hüper, who won the German U20 beach volleyball championship title as a 16-year-old, and Fabian Drews, who achieved a similar feat in judo – he became German U18 runner-up at the age of just 14. Third in the group is high-flyer Rasmus Ankermann, now an integral part of the THW Kiel professional team and U19 world champion.

Incidentally, the list of candidates is, in terms of gender distribution, something of an anti-proportion to last year: for 2024, in addition to four players from the two professional clubs Holstein Kiel and THW Kiel, seven female athletes and five male athletes as well as three surprise candidates made it onto the nomination list.

The final result consists of half the votes of an expert jury (members of the KN sports editorial team) and half of the online voting. Vote here by January 24th. You can vote in all three categories one after the other; after a vote in the first category you will be redirected to the next.

Numerous attractive prizes will be raffled off among all registered participants, including VIP tickets for a Holstein Kiel and THW Kiel game, tickets for events in the Wunderino Arena and vouchers for the Theater Kiel, Rossmann and the THW fan world.

Vote for Kiel’s athlete of the year!

KN