Athlete of the Year: 3×3 basketball players Zeidler and Varfolomeev win

With their coup in 3×3 basketball at the Olympic Games in Paris, the DBB selection caused a big surprise, which now has a very pleasing aftermath: The basket hunters also won the title of team of the year and were honored on Sunday at the gala Baden-Baden awarded.

With 2,872 votes in the journalists’ vote, they clearly outpaced the double soccer winners from Bayer Leverkusen (1,712) and the German handball players (1,196) and thus kept the prize in the basketball family. Last year, the world champions around Dennis Schröder triumphed.

Athlete of the Year: Oliver Zeidler (rowing)

Single rower Oliver Zeidler is Germany’s athlete of the year. The Olympic champion in Paris narrowly beat Olympic swimming champion Lukas Märtens. Triathlete and Ironman champion Patrick Lange came in third. Zeidler, who scored 1,694 points, and Märtens (1,647) were separated by just 47 points. The three-time Hawaii winner Lange received 1,439 points. Decathlete and Paris silver medalist Leo Neugebauer (1043) also achieved a four-digit result in fourth place.

Female athlete of the year: Darja Varfolomeev (rhythmic gymnastics)

In the women’s category, rhythmic gymnast Darja Varfolomeev (1888 points) was honored. She narrowly beat Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye (1809). Dressage double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (1274) came in third. Varfolomeev was the first German to win an Olympic victory in rhythmic gymnastics in Paris. With four exercises “close to perfection,” as national coach Yuliya Raskina later said, Varfolomeev became the gymnastics queen.

This meant that only gold medalists from the Games in Paris triumphed at the gala in Baden-Baden.