The biathlete Franziska Preuß and the track and field athlete Leo Neugebauer have been voted Germany’s athlete of the year. The winners of the traditional election were honored in the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden. The men’s national basketball team was honored as Team of the Year.
Preuß (31), who won the overall World Cup and World Championship gold in the pursuit this year, prevailed with a small lead of just 48 points over gymnast Darja Varfolomeev.
Varfolomeev triumphed in Baden-Baden last year and won five gold medals at the World Championships in August. Third place went to swimmer Anna Elendt, who sensationally won the 100 meter breaststroke World Cup title in Singapore in a German record time.
The decathlon world champion Neugebauer
A year after his silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, Neugebauer won the decathlon world title in Tokyo. He follows Niklas Kaul, who became world champion in 2019 and was subsequently also honored as athlete of the year.
Swimmer Florian Wellbrock took second place among athletes after winning four gold medals in open water at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore. Third came professional cyclist Florian Lipowitz, who finished the Tour de France in third place behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Team and Special Olympics Athlete of the Year
The basketball players’ selection as team of the year was hardly surprising. They won the European Championship title in September. The team had already been honored in Baden-Baden two years ago, when the basketball players were crowned world champions in Manila. “It’s nice to be up here again,” said Andreas Obst.
This year, a Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year was chosen for the first time. The laudatory speech for the victorious short tracker Sophie Dziadek was given by former ski racer Felix Neureuther. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports movement for people with cognitive impairments.
The gala in Baden-Baden also remembered former biathlete Laura Dahlmeier, who died in an accident in July.
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