The top 3 for the honors show: Even World Cup victories do not have to be enough in a strong sporting year to be nominated.
Sportswoman of the year? Olympic champion Anna Kiesenhofer
The year 2021 will be remembered as a good sporting year for Austria. Many victories, medals and sensational successes were already celebrated in the first nine months of the year. The final selection for “Sportswoman of the Year” and “Sportswoman of the Year” is correspondingly high-class. Even great deeds didn't have to be enough to make it onto the shortlist.
The award will take place on October 14th as part of the 25th Sporthilfe gala in the Wiener Konzerthaus. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is expected, ORF 1 will broadcast live. Aksel Lund Svindal is among the 1,000 guests. The Norwegian ski star will be immortalized on the “Road of Winners”.
Favorite Kriechmayr
The following are nominated by the votes of the members of the Austrian sports journalists' association “Sports Media Austria”:
Vincent Kriechmayr (double world champion and overall Super G World Cup winner in alpine skiing), Jakob Schubert (Olympic bronze and World Cup gold in climbing) and Lukas Weißhaidinger (Olympic bronze in discus throw) in the men.
Ski jumping world champion Kraft, double world champion Lamparter and golf ace Wiesberger are no longer in the running.
Favorite Kiesenhofer
In the women's category, Lisa Hauser (World Cup gold and silver in biathon), Anna Kiesenhofer (Olympic gold cycling) and Katharina Liensberger (two World Cup gold and overall slalom World Cup winners in Alpine skiing) made it into the top 3 .
With Olympic champion Kiesenhofer there is a clear favorite. The mathematician surprisingly won the Olympic cycling race in Japan. The Olympic medal winners Plank and Lobnig did not make it into the top 3.
In the team competition, Lampartner / Greiderer (Nordic Combined), the women's ski jumping team (Iraschko-Stolz, Sorschag, Kreuzer, Kramer) and the soccer players from Salzburg can hope.
Public vote
The climber of the year is determined by the fans. One vote can be cast until October 7th. The nominees were the Nordic combined athlete Johannes Lampartner, Olympic cycling champion Anna Kiesenhofer and the biathlete Lisa Hauser.
As part of the gala, the coaching personality of the year and the athlete will also be honored with heart.
Last year's winner without a chance
A look back: Last year Ivona Dadic, Dominic Thiem and Red Bull Salzburg were honored as athlete, athlete and team of the year, the trophy for athletes with disabilities went to Veronika Aigner and Markus Salcher.
Thiem is currently experiencing the darker side of the sport – the 2020 US Open winner could not build on his successes and is currently out with a hand injury.
In 2021 the election for the athletes of the year will take place for the 73rd time.
