Many people considered it certain that the basketball players would win at this year’s awards. The decision was more surprising for the female athletes. The retired biathlon “mommy” Denise Herrmann-Wick grabs the award. Gold gymnast Lukas Dauser is athlete of the year and the German national basketball team is team athlete of the year. At the 77th edition of the gala in the magnificent Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, Herrmann-Wick was honored for their World Cup performance in Oberhof at home and Dauser for his gold coup on the parallel bars in Antwerp. The fact that the basketball players around captain Dennis Schröder would be honored after their first World Cup title and a memorable semi-final victory over the star ensemble of the USA was considered a formality.
The winners, dressed in fine clothing, were honored at the festive gala on Sunday. Around 700 guests gathered in the Bénazet Hall to celebrate the sporting end of the year together. For the first time since the start of the corona pandemic, the event was at full capacity again.
Basketball players are best team
For the basketball players, it is the highlight of a series of honors since the coup in Manila on September 10th. The final victory over Serbia and the feat against the USA two days earlier put Schröder’s team in the center of attention. “Basketball is a great sport and I hope we can get the respect for what we have done the last two years,” said Schröder, who, like the Wagner brothers Franz and Moritz and Daniel Theis, did not play because of the busy NBA calendar could be in Baden-Baden.
The Bundesliga professionals around World Cup hero Andreas Obst from FC Bayern were there for this. The basketball players were last named Team of the Year in 2005: Dirk Nowitzki and Co. did not win World Cup gold, but European Championship silver. The ice hockey team (World Cup silver) and the hockey world champions landed on the podium, but had to admit defeat to the basketball players. Led by Schröder and super talent Franz Wagner, German basketball faces a bright future.
Biathlete takes advantage of her last chance
For Olympic champion Herrmann-Wick, this only applies privately. The 34-year-old resigned after last season and the successes at the home World Cup in Oberhof. She will soon live up to her internal team nickname “Mommy”: She and her husband Thomas Wick are expecting their first child in 2024. The Saxon, who will celebrate her 35th birthday next Wednesday, showed with determination that even at an advanced age as an athlete you can still dare to do something new.
In 2014 she won bronze with the cross-country skiing relay in Sochi before switching to biathlon two years later and quickly achieving success. Nine World Cup medals and the individual Olympic victory in 2022 were the reward for a courageous and late change. Darja Varfolomeev from rhythmic gymnastics and ski jumper Katharina Schmid (formerly Althaus) took second and third place as multiple world champions.
Lukas Dauser fought his way back
Meanwhile, Turner Dauser is following in the footsteps of Fabian Hambüchen. After the 30-year-old replaced the Wetzlarer as the last German gymnastics world champion in Antwerp, he is now the first gymnast since Hambüchen 2016 to receive the award in Baden-Baden. Just in time for the gala, Dauser returned from vacation in the Maldives with his wife Viktoria last Wednesday. “It was incredibly beautiful,” he told dpa.
On the way to his gold coup in October, Dauser fought his way up through a low – both in sport and in his private life. A torn muscle in his shoulder last December prevented him from doing gymnastics for a long time. Swimming world champion Florian Wellbrock and rowing world champion Oliver Zeidler came in second and third place.
All results at a glance
Female athlete of the year
1. Denise Herrmann-Wick, biathlon (1276)
2. Darja Varfolomeev, rhythmic gymnastics (1255)
3. Katharina Schmid (Althaus), ski jumping (1208)
4. Emma Hinze, cycling (738)
5. Anne Haug, triathlon (660)
6. Leonie Beck, swimming (643)
7. Anna-Lena Forster, Para-Ski (474)
8. Laura Nolte, Bob (470)
9. Ricarda Funk, canoe slalom (331)
10.Doreen Vennekamp, shooting (183)
Sportsman of the year
1. Lukas Dauser, gymnastics (1753)
2. Florian Wellbrock, swimming (1062)
3. Oliver Zeidler, rowing (865)
4. Eric Frenzel, Nordic Combined (747)
5. Markus Rehm, para-athletics (626)
6. Felix Loch, tobogganing (624)
7. Alexander Schmid, alpine skiing (606)
8. Patrick Lange, triathlon (383)
9. Taliso Engel, para-swimming (246)
10. Julian Schmid, Nordic Combined (224)
Team of the year
1. National team men, basketball (2539)
2nd national team men, ice hockey (1718)
3. National team men, hockey (1119)
4. Team sprint women, track cycling (646)
5th relay women, biathlon (409)
6th relay women, cross-country skiing (395)
7. Double-seater Eggert/Benecken, tobogganing (350)
8. Two Lochner/Butcher, Bob (224)
9. Kayak foursome male, canoe (135)
10. Two-man canoe Kretschmer/Hecker, canoe (121)
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
