The rhythmic gymnast Darja Varfolomeev, single rower Oliver Zeidler and the 3×3 basketball players are Germany’s athletes of the year. At the 78th edition of the gala, Varfolomeev narrowly beat Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye. Zeidler’s lead over second-placed Olympic swimming champion Lukas Märtens was also only a few points. Only the 3×3 basketball players who won clearly won Olympic Games won gold in Paris this year. Behind them, football champions and DFB Cup winners Bayer 04 Leverkusen came second. Sports journalists could award one to five points for the athlete and team of the year.
Dressage double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl came third in the female athlete ranking. Triathlete and Ironman champion Patrick Lange received the third most points among athletes. The men’s national handball team came third in the team rankings. They had won silver at the Olympics.
For Zeidler, previously a multiple world champion, his second Olympic Games ended with the hoped-for victory. It was also the first by a German single driver since Thomas Lange (1988 and 1992). “It was a race for eternity. I enjoyed it. And it went by like a dream,” he said. In 2023 he came third in the athlete election, which was won by gymnast Lukas Dauser.
Varfolomeev was second behind biathlete Denise Herrmann-Wick last year. The six-time world champion was the first German to win Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics.