Sportsman of the year (Austria)
The election of the athlete of the year in Austria has been taking place since 1949. The winners in the categories of athletes, athletes, teams, athletes and athletes with disabilities as well as Special Olympics are selected by secret ballot by almost 400 members of Sports Media Austria (SMA), the association of Austrian sports journalists. In 2019, the trophy awarded in honor of Niki Lauda was named Niki .
organization
Historical background
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The beginning of sport in Austria is historically set in the first half of the 19th century. During the modern era , it was still considered noble to belong to a cycling club. Immediately before the turn of the century, sport was finally no longer reserved for the aristocrats and the first associations were founded in Austria.
The Viennese Stemmer Josef Steinbach (* 1879; † 1937) appeared as the first Austrian “sports star” . After him, the figure skaters Karl Schäfer , Felix Kaspar and Liselotte Landbeck as well as the fencer Ellen Preis were considered to be the most nationally and internationally successful Austrian athletes for several years.
As early as the 1920s, the soccer players were already very popular with the public and initiated something like a form of “hero worship”, which the “ Austrian miracle team ” led by captain Matthias Sindelar (* 1903; † 1939) It reached its first peak in the early 1930s. After the founding of SC Hakoah Vienna in 1909, swimming was one of the most popular sports in Austria alongside soccer and water polo for around 30 years. In 1935, the swimmer Judith Deutsch (* 1918; † 2004) was the first woman to be named “Austria's Sportswoman of the Year” in recognition of her athletic achievements.
After the end of the occupation in Austria, alpine skiing, starting with Toni Sailer from 1956, became one of the most popular sports in Austria due to the numerous successes of the athletes. In addition, football in particular continues to attract a great deal of media attention. Also depending on sporting success, followed by tennis, golf, etc.
Official elections since 1949
| Proportion of sports with the most awards so far |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine skiing | 90 | |||
| Ski jumping | 21st | |||
| athletics | 20th | |||
| Soccer | 17th | |||
| figure skating | 8th | |||
| Cycling | 8th | |||
| Nordic combination | 7th | |||
| Judo | 5 | |||
| swim | 5 | |||
| tennis | 5 | |||
| A total of 265 awards have been given since 1949 (as of November 2017) | ||||
An official election for “Sportsman of the Year” has been taking place in Austria since 1949. Every year athletes are nominated for the various categories and the winners are chosen by members of the Association of Austrian Sports Journalists (Sports Media Austria) in a secret ballot. Up until 1955 and from 1974 one athlete and one female athlete were honored. In the years 1956 to 1973, the title was given to only one person per year, regardless of gender. In 1978 and 1979, and since 1990, prizes are also awarded in the team category. Other categories have been introduced over the years. Since 1999, the Sportsperson of the Year has been honored as part of the Sport Aid Lottery "Night of Sports" ; The Austrian Lotteries are obliged to donate part of their profits to Sporthilfe according to the statutes established by law.
From 2007 to 2012 the gala took place in the Austria Trend Eventhotel Pyramide in Vösendorf . The Vienna International Center then served as the event location for several years and, since 2017, the Marx Hall in Vienna. The television broadcast has been carried out live by ORF , moderated by Mirjam Weichselbraun and Rainer Pariasek since the mid-2000s .
The trophies, which have been awarded to the winners since 2004, are made by metal artist Stefan Gahr , who used to practice judo as a competitive sport . They represent an aspiring human figure in a similar form, but are each one-off. Since 2019 the sculpture has been called "Niki", named after the racing driver Niki Lauda who died in May 2019 .
"Disabled Sportsman of the Year" and "Special Olympics" since 2001
Since 2001, a prize has also been awarded in the categories of disabled athlete and disabled athlete of the year as well as Special Olympics for people with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities. Since 2003, special awards have also been given to recognize special achievements or life's work in sport.
"Newcomer of the year" since 2007
The prize for the female or male “climber of the year” has been chosen by sports fans in an internet vote since 2007 and has been awarded to successful young athletes since then.
"Athlete with a heart" since 2013
Since 2013 there has also been the category athletes with a heart , in which humanitarian and social commitment is honored.
Title holder
The most successful athletes to date were awarded:
- Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Claudia Lösch : 7 times each
- Marcel Hirscher and the national ski jumping team: 6 times each
- Andrea Scherney : 5 times
- Hermann Maier , Thomas Geierspichler and the national soccer team: 4 times each
- Anna Veith , Mirna Jukić , Petra Kronberger , Peter Seisenbacher , Franz Klammer , Armin Kogler , Karl Schranz , Toni Sailer and FC Red Bull Salzburg : 3 times each
Award winners
Special Award
The 2011 Special Award (nominated was the mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner ) was given to Felix Baumgartner by Sports Media Austria (SMA) and Sporthilfe in 2012 .
| year | Sportswoman | sport | Comments from the jury |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Marcel Koller | Soccer | |
| 2014 | Marlies shield | Alpine skiing | |
| 2013 | Peter Schröcksnadel | - | Life's work |
| 2010 | Anton Innauer | Ski jumping | |
| 2009 | Renate Götschl | Alpine skiing | |
| Hermann Maier -2- | Alpine skiing | ||
| 2008 | Matthias Lanzinger | Alpine skiing | |
| 2007 | Felix Gottwald | Nordic combination | |
| 2006 | Niki Lauda | formula 1 | |
| 2005 | Andreas Goldberger | Ski jumping | Unique career |
| 2004 | Stephan Eberharter | Alpine skiing | |
| 2003 | Hermann Maier | Alpine skiing | Comeback of the year |
Sportsman with a heart
The “Athletes with a Heart” category has existed since 2013. Here, humanitarian and social commitment is honored and the winning project receives a 5,000 euro premium from Austrian Lotteries (as of 2017). The grant is earmarked for the project.
| year | Sportswoman | Project |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Christoph Vetchy | Vienna Charity Run |
| 2018 | Michael Strasser | Racing4Charity |
| 2017 | Erich Artner | Charity Cycling Challenge |
| 2016 | Peter Hackmair | |
| 2015 | Wilhelm Lilge (initiator), various professional and around 3,300 hobby athletes | "Running for Kira" ( Kira Grünberg ) |
| 2014 | Mirna Jukić | Mirno More |
| 2013 | Ulf Arlati | Handball marathon |
See also
Web links
- Österreichische Sporthilfe: Information on the election of the athlete of the year
- Association of Austrian Sports Journalists
Individual evidence
- ↑ ORF at / Agencies red: Award: Niki will receive athletes of the year in future. October 16, 2019, accessed October 16, 2019 .
- ↑ The point of reference for this is, among other things, the opening of the Freudenau horse racing track in Vienna in 1839
- ↑ In 1867 the Vienna Ice Skating Association (WEV) was founded.
- ↑ Excerpt from: Profession press officer; The job description of the public relations worker of a sports organization based on the Austrian Swimming Association (OSV); by Karin Fenz
- ↑ Austrian Lotteries : A win for ... athletes with a heart ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 2014
- ^ Christian and Sailer: Sportsman of the year . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 31, 1958, p. 10 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ Choice of athletes: Hirscher and Schild could provide double alpine skiing (October 24, 2012)
- ↑ "Special Heroes"
- ^ Charity Cycling Challenge
- ↑ Österreichische Sporthilfe : Charity "Laufen für Kira" awarded
