Champion of champions

France's Sportsman of the Year 2016 and 2017: Teddy Riner (Judo)

Champion des champions ( German  Sieger der Sieger or Meister der Meister ) is a survey that has been carried out annually by the French sports daily L'Équipe since 1946 .

organization

Since 1946, the best French athletes ( Champion des champions France / Championne des championnes France , German: Champion of the Masters France / Champion of the Masters France ; until 2011 Champion des champions français ) of the previous calendar year have been determined, with men and women since 2012 be awarded in separate categories. Before that, men, women and even teams had competed in one category. Since 1980 is also an option for World Sportsman of the Year ( champion of champions monde / Championne of championnes monde , .: dt champion of champion / champion of the world champions , and 2011 Champion of champions Mondiaux ) held whose winners since 2012 also separately for men and Women are chosen. The journalists from the newspaper office act as jurors.

The result is usually announced in December. A golden statuette is awarded as an award, depicting an abstract athlete who stretches both arms in the air as a sign of victory.

The winner will be determined in a secret ballot. In a first round of voting, the number of participants per magazine section will be reduced to 20 nominated athletes. From these, all editorial members of L'Équipe , lequiple.fr , L'Équipe Mag and L'Équipe 21 select the best athletes of the year. In the final round of voting, each eligible voter votes for his five favorite athletes in descending order with six, four, three, two or one point. The athlete who can collect the most points wins the election.

The French soccer player Zinédine Zidane (1998) and the French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie (2014) were the only athletes to win both elections.

Various special awards were also given in the past. At the 2014 award ceremony, the former Belgian racing cyclist Eddy Merckx was awarded the title of Legende des Sports ( Championne des championnes de légende ), while the Danish racing driver Tom Kristensen also received an honorary award ( Champion des champions d'honneur ). The French snowboarder Xavier de Le Rue won the 2014 award for the best extreme athlete ( Champion des champions de l'extrême ).

Award winners

French Sportsman of the Year ("Champion des champions France")

Cyclist Bernard Hinault (1978–1981) and Formula 1 driver Alain Prost (1985–1986, 1989, 1993) received the most awards, each with four victories. The most common sport among the winners is athletics (19 wins), followed by cycling (16) and motorsport (7).

Winter sports enthusiasts (all ski racers) have been successful six times. In 1973 the award was posthumously given to the late Formula 1 driver François Cevert . With the Monaco rally co-driver Daniel Elena (2007 and 2009) a non-French was honored for the first time.

year	Award winners	sport	Successes)
1946	Jean Séphériades	rowing	Winner of the Henley Royal Regatta and thus unofficial world champion.
1947	Christian d'Oriola	fencing	Foil world champion in singles and with the French national team
1948	Marcel Cerdan	Boxing	Middleweight world champion
1949	Alain Mimoun	athletics	Winner of the Cross of Nations (forerunner competition of the Cross Country World Championships )
1950	Papa Gallo Thiam	athletics	First French to cross the two meters in the high jump (stretch jump)
1951	Puig-Aubert	Rugby league	Winner of the French championship with the team from AS Carcassonne XIII
1952	Jean Boiteux	swim	Gold medalist at the Helsinki Summer Olympics (400m freestyle)
1953	Louison Bobet	Cycling	Winner of the 40th Tour de France
1954	Louison Bobet -2-	Cycling	Winner of the 41st Tour de France
1955	Raymond Kopa	Soccer	French football champions with Stade de Reims
1956	Alain Mimoun	athletics	Gold medalist at the Melbourne Summer Olympics (marathon)
1957	Roger Rivière	Cycling	World champion in single pursuit on the track and hour record (46.923 km)
1958	Raymond Kopa -2-	Soccer	Third in the World Cup with the French national team, Ballon d'Or , European Cup with Real Madrid
1959	Lucien Mias	Rugby league	Captain of the French national rugby union team , winner of the Five Nations tournament
1960	Michel Jazy	athletics	Gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rome (1500 meter run)
1961	Guy Périllat	Alpine skiing	Winner of six races of the season
1962	Michel Jazy -2-	athletics	Gold medalist at the European Athletics Championships in Belgrade (1500 meter run), world record in the 2000 and 3000 meter run
1963	Jacques Anquetil	Cycling	Winner of the 50th Tour de France , the Vuelta a España , 23 victories of the season
1964	Marielle Goitschel	Alpine skiing	triple medal winner at the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck (gold in giant slalom, silver in slalom, gold in the combined competition held as a world championship)
1965	Michel Jazy -3-	athletics	Four world records (mile run, two-mile run, 3000 meter run, 4 x 1500 meter run), five European records, nine national records
1966	Alain Mosconi	swim	Bronze medalist at the European Swimming Championships in Utrecht (400-meter freestyle), first French under two minutes over 200-meter freestyle
1967	Jean-Claude Killy	Alpine skiing	Winner of the overall world cup, downhill, giant slalom and slalom world cup, 12 victories this season
1968	Jean-Claude Killy -2-	Alpine skiing	three-time gold medalist at the Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble (gold in the downhill, giant slalom, slalom, gold in the combined competition held as a world championship)
1969	Nicole Duclos	athletics	Gold medalist at the European Athletics Championships in Athens (400-meter run with world record - 51.72 seconds)
1970	Jean-Claude Nallet	athletics	Gold medal winner at the European Athletics Cup (400-meter hurdles), national record in the 400-meter run (45.1 seconds)
1971	Jean-Claude Bouttier	Boxing	European middleweight champion
1971	Regis Ovion	Cycling	Amateur road racing champion and winner of the Tour de l'Avenir
1972	Daniel Morelon	Cycling	Gold medal winner at the Summer Olympics in Munich ( track sprint )
1973	François Cevert	Motorsport	Death during the final Formula 1 training for the US Grand Prix on October 6, 1973 in Watkins Glen (at the time, second in the drivers' standings)
1974	Guy Drut	athletics	Gold medalist at the European Athletics Championships in Rome (110-meter hurdles), European record for the fourth time
1974	Raymond Poulidor	Cycling	Second in the 61st Tour de France and World Road Championships
1975	Guy Drut -2-	athletics	World record in the 110-meter hurdles (13 seconds)
1975	Bernard Thévenet	Cycling	Winner of the 62nd Tour de France
1976	Guy Drut -3-	athletics	Gold medalist at the Montreal Summer Olympics (110-meter hurdles)
1977	Michel Platini	Soccer	Qualified with the French national team for the World Cup in Argentina , 3rd place in the Ballon d'Or election
1978	Bernard Hinault	Cycling	Winner of the 65th Tour de France and the French road championships
1979	Bernard Hinault -2-	Cycling	Winner of the 66th Tour de France , seven stage victories
1980	Bernard Hinault -3-	Cycling	Winner of the 63rd Giro d'Italia and the World Road Championships
1981	Bernard Hinault -4-	Cycling	Winner of the 68th Tour de France and Paris – Roubaix
1982	Alain Giresse	Soccer	Fourth place at the World Cup in Italy with the French national team, second in the Ballon d'Or election
1983	Yannick Noah	tennis	French Open winner (men's singles)
1984	Michel Platini	Soccer	Winning the European Football Championship with the French national team, the European Cup of National Champions with Juventus Turin and the Ballon d'Or
1985	Alain Prost	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
1986	Alain Prost -2-	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
1987	Jeannie Longo	Cycling	Winner of the Tour Cycliste Féminin , road world champion
1988	Jean-François Lamour	fencing	Gold Medal Winner at the Summer Olympics in Seoul (Saber)
1989	Alain Prost -3-	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
1990	Florence Arthaud	sailing	First woman to win the overall classification of the Route du Rhum .
1990	Max Morinière , Daniel Sangouma , Jean-Charles Trouabal , Bruno Marie-Rose	athletics	Gold medal winner at the European Athletics Championships in Split (4 x 100 meter run with world record - 37.79 seconds)
1991	Guy Forget Henri Leconte	tennis	Davis Cup winner
1992	Marie-José Pérec	athletics	Gold medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona (200-meter run)
1993	Alain Prost -4-	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
1994	Luc Leblanc	Cycling	Winner of the road cycling world championships (individual)
1995	David Douillet	Judo	first French heavyweight world champion
1996	Marie-José Pérec	athletics	Two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta (200 and 400 meters)
1997	Luc Alphand	Alpine skiing	Winner of the overall World Cup , the Downhill and Super-G World Cup
1998	Zinedine Zidane	Soccer	Football world champion with the French national team, winner of the Ballon d'Or
1999	Eunice Barber	athletics	Gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Seville (heptathlon)
2000	David Douillet -2-	Judo	Gold Medalist at the Sydney Summer Olympics (Heavyweight)
2001	Jackson Richardson	Handball	Handball world champion with the French national team, EHF Champions League winner with SDC San Antonio
2002	Carole Montillet	Alpine skiing	Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games Gold Medalist Downhill
2003	Tony Parker	basketball	First French NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs .
2004	Laure Manaudou	swim	three-time medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Athens (gold over 400-meter freestyle, silver over 800 meters freestyle, bronze over 100 meters back), three-time gold medal winner at the European Swimming Championships in Madrid (400 meters freestyle, 100 meters back, 4 times 100 meter layers)
2005	Ladji Doucouré	athletics	two-time gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki (110-meter hurdles, 4-by-100-meter relay)
2006	Laure Manaudou -2-	swim	Four-time gold medalist at the European Swimming Championships in Budapest (400 and 800 meters freestyle, 100 and 200 meters back), world record over 400 meters freestyle long and short courses (4: 02.13 min and 3: 56.09 min) and 800 meters freestyle Short course (8: 11.25 min)
2007	Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena	Motorsport	World Rally Champion for the fourth time in a row
2008	Alain Bernard	swim	two-time medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing (gold over 100 meters freestyle, silver over 4 × 100 meters freestyle), two-time gold medal winner at the European Swimming Championships in Eindhoven (50 and 100 meters freestyle), world record over 50 and 100 meters freestyle (21.50 Seconds and 47.20 seconds)
2009	Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena -2-	Motorsport	World rally champion for the sixth time in a row
2010	Christophe Lemaitre	athletics	three-time gold medalist at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona (100 and 200 meter run, 4 x 100 meter relay), first white sprinter under the 10-second limit (9.97 seconds)
2011	Nikola Karabatić	Handball	Handball world champion with the French national team and best player of the tournament, French champion with Montpellier HB
Men and women have been honored in separate categories since 2012
2012	Camille Muffat	swim	three-time medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in London (gold over 400 meters freestyle, silver over 200 meters freestyle, bronze over 4 × 200 meters freestyle), short course world record over 800 meters freestyle (8: 01.06 min)
2012	Teddy Riner	Judo	Gold medalist at the London Summer Olympics (heavyweight)
2013	Marion Bartoli	tennis	Winner of the Wimbledon Championships in women's singles
2013	Tony Parker	basketball	Gold medalist with the French national team at the European Basketball Championship as well as most basket points and most valuable player of the tournament, NBA finalist with the San Antonio Spurs
2014	Pauline Ferrand-Prévot	Cycling	Gold medalist at the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada (road races), winner at the Flèche Wallonne and Emakumeen Bira
2014	Renaud Lavillenie	athletics	World record in pole vault (6.16 meters) and gold medal winner at the European Championships in Zurich
2015	Pauline Ferrand-Prévot -2-	Cycling	Gold medalist at the Cyclocross World Championships in Tábor , two-time gold medalist at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Vallnord (Cross Country - individual and relay)
2015	Florent Manaudou	swim	three-time gold medalist at the World Swimming Championships in Kazan (50 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay)
2016	Émilie Andéol	Judo	Gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (heavyweight)
2016	Teddy Riner	Judo	Gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (heavyweight)
2017	Tessa Worley	Alpine skiing	World champion in giant slalom and team competition, World Cup winner in giant slalom
2017	Teddy Riner -2-	Judo	Two-time gold medalist at the World Championships
2018	Clarisse Agbegnenou	Judo	Judo world and European champion
2018	Kevin Mayer	athletics	World record in the decathlon (9126 points)
2019	Clarisse Agbegnenou -2-	Judo	Judo world champion , first French woman with more than three world championship titles
2019	Julian Alaphilippe	Cycling	Winner of the Tour of Wallonia and Milan – Sanremo , winner of the yellow jersey at 14 stages of the Tour de France

World Sportsman of the Year ("Champion des champions monde")

The Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt , who received five awards, won the most. The Swiss tennis player Roger Federer and the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal were each able to win the election four times. The most successful nation is the United States with 17 awards. The most common sport among the winners is athletics (17 wins), followed by tennis (12). So far, only two winter athletes, Eric Heiden and Marcel Hirscher, have won the trophy.

With the election of the US athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988, a woman was victorious for the first time.

year	Award winners	sport	Successes)
1980	Eric Heiden	Speed ​​skating	five-time gold medalist at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid (500, 1000, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters)
1981	Sebastian Coe	athletics	World record in the 800 meter run (1: 41.73 min)
1982	Paolo Rossi	Soccer	Football world champion with the Italian national team, most valuable player and top scorer of the World Cup (“ Golden Ball ” and “ Golden Shoe ”), winner of the Ballon d'Or
1983	Carl Lewis	athletics	three-time gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki (100-meter run, long jump, 4-by-100-meter relay)
1984	Carl Lewis -2-	athletics	Four-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (100-meter run, 200-meter run, long jump, 4-by-100-meter relay)
1985	Serhiy Bubka	athletics	World record in pole vault (6 meters)
1986	Diego Maradona	Soccer	Soccer world champion with the Argentine national team
1987	Ben johnson 1	athletics	Gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Rome in the 100-meter run with a world record (9.83 seconds)
1988	Florence Griffith-Joyner	athletics	three-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Seoul (100-meter run with world record - 10.49 seconds, 200-meter run with world record - 21.34 seconds, 4 x 100-meter relay)
1989	Greg Lemond	Cycling	Winner of the 76th Tour de France and world champion in road racing
1990	Ayrton Senna	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
1991	Carl Lewis -3-	athletics	two-time gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (100-meter run with world record - 9.86 seconds, 4 x 100-meter relay)
1992	Michael Jordan	basketball	Olympic champion with the US national team and NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls
1993	Noureddine Morceli	athletics	Gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart (1,500 meter run) and world record in the mile run (3: 44.39 min)
1994	Romario	Soccer	Soccer world champion with the Brazilian national team
1995	Jonathan Edwards	athletics	Gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg (triple jump with world record - 18.29 meters)
1996	Michael Johnson	athletics	two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta (200-meter run with world record - 19.32 seconds, 400-meter run)
1997	Serhiy Bubka	athletics	Gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Athens (pole vault)
1998	Zinedine Zidane	Soccer	Soccer world champion with the French national team
1999	Andre Agassi	tennis	Winner of the French Open and US Open in men's singles, world number one
2000	Tiger Woods	golf	Winner of the US Open , British Open , PGA Championship
2001	Michael sSchumacher	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
2002	Michael Schumacher -2-	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
2003	Michael Schumacher -3-	Motorsport	Formula 1 world champion
2004	Hicham El Guerrouj	athletics	two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Summer Games in Athens (1500-meter run, 5000-meter run)
2005	Roger Federer	tennis	Wimbledon and US Open men's singles winner , 81 wins, world number one
2006	Roger Federer -2-	tennis	Winner of the Australian Open , Wimbledon , the US Open and the Masters Cup in men's singles, world number one
2007	Roger Federer -3-	tennis	Winner of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Masters Cup in men's singles, world number one
2008	Usain Bolt	athletics	Three-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Beijing (100-meter run, 200-meter run, 4-by-100-meter relay with world records) - in 2017, Bolt was stripped of the gold medal for doping his relay colleague Nesta Carter .
2009	Usain Bolt -2-	athletics	Three-time gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin (100-meter run with world record - 9.58 seconds, 200-meter run with world record - 19.19 seconds, 4 x 100 meter relay)
2010	Rafael Nadal	tennis	Winner of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in men's singles, world number one
2011	Lionel Messi	Soccer	UEFA Champions League winner and top scorer, UEFA Super Cup winner, FIFA club world champion and top scorer, Spanish champion , Spanish Super Cup winner each with FC Barcelona , World Footballer of the Year , Best Player in Europe , Best player in the Spanish league
Men and women have been honored in separate categories since 2012
2012	Usain Bolt -3-	athletics	three-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in London (100-meter run, 200-meter run, 4-by-100-meter relay with world record - 36.84 seconds)
	Serena Williams	tennis	two-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in London (singles and women doubles), two Grand Slam titles in singles (Wimbledon and US Open) and one in women doubles (Wimbledon), winner of the WTA Championships
2013	Rafael Nadal -2-	tennis	Winner of the French Open and the US Open in men's singles, world number one
	Serena Williams -2-	tennis	Winner of the French Open and the US Open in women's singles, winner of the WTA Championships , world number one
2014	Renaud Lavillenie	athletics	World record in pole vault (6.16 meters) and gold medal winner at the European Championships in Zurich
	Katie Ledecky	swim	Five world records over three different routes (400, 800 and 1500 meters freestyle)
2015	Usain Bolt -4-	athletics	Three-time gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing (100-meter run, 200-meter run with world record, 4 x 100-meter relay) - the most successful participant in outdoor world championships in terms of medals
	Serena Williams -3-	tennis	Winner of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Championships as well as semi-finalist of the US Open in women's singles, world number one
2016	Usain Bolt -5-	athletics	three-time gold medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (100-meter run, 200-meter run, 4-by-100-meter relay)
	Simone Biles	Apparatus gymnastics	Five-time medalist at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (gold in all- around competition, team competition, floor and jump, bronze on the balance beam)
2017	Roger Federer -4- Rafael Nadal -3-	tennis	Joint honor after returning to the top of the world rankings and two Grand Slam titles each
	Katie Ledecky -2-	swim	five-time world champion and one-time vice world champion at the 2017 swimming world championships
2018	Marcel Hirscher	Alpine skiing	Overall World Cup winner 2017/18 , two-time gold medal winner at the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang in giant slalom and in combination
	Simone Biles -2-	Apparatus gymnastics	Four times world champion (all around, floor, jump and team) as well as silver and bronze at the 2018 World Gymnastics Championships
2019	Rafael Nadal -4-	tennis	Winner of the French Open, US Open and Davis Cup, world number one
	Simone Biles -3-	Apparatus gymnastics	five-time world champion (all around, floor, jump, team and balance beam) at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships

¹ Ben Johnson, winner of the 1987 election, was stripped of the title after he was convicted of doping.

See also

• Sportsman of the year

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Riner: “C'est fort” at lequipe.fr, December 13, 2012 (accessed December 27, 2012).
2. ↑ Les champion des champions France: Riner et Muffat plus forts que tous at lequipe.fr, December 24, 2012 (accessed December 27, 2012).
3. ↑ Lavillenie a frappé fort at lequipe.fr, December 19, 2014 (accessed January 8, 2015).