Isabell Thal’s opponents are not safe from her on the mat: in 2023 she won the title of German runner-up in Para Judo. Just Berger won bronze in the disco solo and silver with his group “Attacktion” at the European Championships in Sweden last year. The water polo men of SV Blau-Weiß achieved their longed-for return to the 1st Bundesliga in 2023. Mayor Thomas Eiskirch honored the Bochum athletes as athletes, athletes and team of the year. This was decided by sports enthusiasts from Bochum in an online vote.
Yesterday, March 21st, the city of Bochum invited 160 guests to the “et cetera” variety show to honor him. Among the guests: World, European and German champions. They have all made Bochum Sport 2023 great with their national and international successes. Mayor Thomas Eiskirch congratulated all athletes on their outstanding achievements: “I am pleased that this evening and the recognition mean so much to the winners and nominees. We would like to say thank you and motivate you to continue doing sport, stick with it and celebrate success.”
Isabell Thal’s sporting career shows that these are not a given. The para-athlete and female athlete of the year has only had five percent vision since early childhood and has a blind spot in the middle of her eye. She still goes para-skiing in winter and qualified for the World Championships in Lillehammer in 2022, where she came tenth in the giant slalom. In 2023 she celebrated successes primarily in Para Judo, a sport that the master’s sports student from the Ruhr University Bochum practices with the Budoka Höntrop. She brought silver with her from her first German championship. In the “Sportswoman of the Year” category, she prevailed against synchronized swimmer Klara Bleyer, who won the European Youth Championships in the technical and free program on Madeira in 2023, and against high jumper Christina Honsel, who won the World Championships and indoors in 2023 European Championship standard with a personal best of 1.98 meters and won her first German indoor championship title. “I can’t really believe it,” said Isabell Thal, who started skiing at the age of five and training judo at the age of eight, about her choice. “Sport has a lot of potential to contribute to inclusion. “You just have to have a lot of confidence in yourself,” she encouraged.
Just Berger is known in Bochum for his dancing and coaching successes. His dancers from MOG Empire became junior world and European champions, and his DQ Dance Squad, with which he dances, became eighth
World Champion for the first time in a row. In addition to his dancing successes at the European Championships, Just Berger secured bronze at the World Cup in Slow Dance. “It’s great that it worked out – dancing is a lot of work,” revealed Just Berger, who started dancing at the age of ten and wants to end his active career in the fall. Nominated with him in the “Athlete of the Year” category were David Bauschke, who won silver and bronze in the single sculls at the German Canoe Racing Championships in 2023, as well as gold in the Bochum eight and paddled to the final at the World Cup, and against Arndt Mallepree, who In 2023, he won Para Taekwon Do in Mexico as world champion and in Innsbruck as European champion.
For SV Blau-Weiß, a big wish has come true with the return of the water polo men to the 1st Bundesliga. SV Blau-Weiß is one of the few clubs where both men and women play in this class. The Bochum team has now embellished this success with the title “Team of the Year”. Captain Raul Diakon said of the award: “It means a lot to me and is a great motivation. I’ve been doing this for a long time, started when I was three years old and am still passionate about this sport. But respect for everyone who is here, because everyone is passionate about their sport!” Also nominated in the “Team of the Year” category was the electric wheelchair sports initiative “Huricanes Bochum”, which returned to the 1st Bundesliga after twelve years of absence is, and the “Isotopes”, the players from “Bochum Lacrosse”, who secured second place in the 2nd Bundesliga in the 2022/23 season with a double victory on the last match day.
A special feature this year: After announcing all the winners, Mayor Thomas Eiskirch honored SV Blau-Weiß for its aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression – “representing the many others in our city who are just as socially committed and have given refugees a new home here. I am very, very grateful for that!” SC Blau-Weiß has, among other things, picked up athletes from friendly clubs on the Polish-Ukrainian border and welcomed them into its club life and everyday training routine in Bochum.
Indispensable for popular and competitive sports: volunteering, which is strong in Bochum. With the title “Sports Citizen of the Year”, the Bochum City Sports Association (SSB) honored Edita Enev, who achieved numerous national and international successes in rhythmic gymnastics under her maiden name Schaufler, including no fewer than 15 German championship titles. Her career was always closely linked to the Bochum Olympic base and her club, TV Wattenscheid 01 LA, later TV Wattenscheid 01 RSG. Since she no longer actively does gymnastics herself, she has been involved in high-performance sports as a trainer and club chairwoman and promotes more fitness as a trainer in participatory activities.
The SSB named Wolfgang Havranek, who represents DJK Viktoria, a sports club that lives by the motto “Sport for All” as “Sports Citizen of the Year”. With his team he has managed to offer a large number of refugees a sporting home at DJK Viktoria. The DJKlers also help with dealings with authorities, looking for accommodation or arranging language courses. All of this goes far beyond playing sports in the club. Successes such as the promotion of the “Integration-Elf” to the district league B in 2017 show how important it is for everyone to play sport together. “This evening is a nice setting to say thank you to both of them for their commitment,” said SSB chairman Gabi Schäfer for Edita Enev and Wolfgang Havranek.
The active athletes were able to sit back and enjoy the ambitious stage program of the national and international artists at the annual sports gala: including the Ukrainian duo “Parshyns” with their swings, turns and somersaults on the Perche, the aerial pole, directly below the tent or the duo “The Shesters”, who tickled the audience’s nerves with their knife and ax throwing.
2024-03-22 12:08:44
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