For Marco Odermatt it is both a must and a reward: appearing at the Swiss Sports Gala on the golden carpet in the television studio in Zurich. But when the 26-year-old exceptional skier does something, he is almost always the best. Accordingly, the man from Nidwalden could be in good spirits that he had not made the long journey from Val d’Isère in vain.
Downhill and giant slalom world champion as well as overall World Cup winner, 13 race wins: It doesn’t get much better than what Odermatt conjured up in the snow last season. Accordingly, being chosen as athlete of the year was more of a choice than a requirement. The central Swiss also gave the wrestler Samuel Giger and the all-round athletics talent Simon Ehammer no chance.
With his third victory in a row, Odermatt achieved something that not even Roger Federer – the record winner as athlete of the year with seven awards – had achieved. Only professional cyclist Tony Rominger achieved such a triple between 1992 and 1994.
Long-running favorite Lara Gut-Behrami
Lara Gut-Behrami made the skiers’ triumph perfect. The Ticino native is still top at 32 years old and after 15 years in the World Cup. Last season she made it to the podium in three disciplines, won the Super-G classification and took second place in the overall World Cup behind the outstanding Mikaela Shiffrin.
Ditaji and Mujinga Kambundji also made some history, becoming the first sister duo to make it into the top 6. The two sprinters also had no chance against Gut-Behrami, like the cyclist Marlen Reusser.
Given Swiss-Ski’s current impressive phase, the victory of Thomas Stauffer, head of the men’s alpine team, is hardly surprising. The Bernese Oberlander is the quiet creator in the background who makes success possible.
Bencic more nervous than before a match
The team title went to Swiss Tennis for the fourth time. The Swiss women were riding high for their victory in last year’s Billie Jean King Cup – too late for the final election in November 2022. Team leader Belinda Bencic and her teammates Viktorija Golubic, Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert as well as captain Heinz Günthardt prevailed ahead of the European beach volleyball champions Tanja Hüberli/Nina Betschart and the soccer double winner Young Boys.
“I’m more nervous than before a match,” Bencic revealed at the awards ceremony in Zurich. And the mother-to-be said with a smile that she would now actively look after young tennis players herself. Before the women, the Davis Cup team (1992 and 2014) and the Olympic champion doubles Roger Federer/Stan Wawrinka had already won the title as Team of the Year in the individual sport of tennis.
Akanji flew in from England
Manuel Akanji is the logical winner of the MVP of the Year award – as the outstanding Swiss player in a team sport. As a regular player at Manchester City, the Winterthur native hoarded multiple titles, with winning the Champions League as the highlight. The 28-year-old triumphed in the election with a large lead over ice hockey professional Nico Hischier and handball goalie Nikola Portner.
The honoree showed how much this award means to him at home by rushing onto the plane on Sunday afternoon after the game in Luton and flying to Zurich to be there in person in the television studio. “The coach said I just had to come back to training on Monday,” said the model professional with a laugh.
Marcel Hug is a regular guest at the Sports Awards. The wheelchair athlete won the Paralympic Athlete of the Year award for the ninth time after another fantastic season and is one victory behind Heinz Frei. Hug also won the Newcomer of the Year award once.
Junior ski world champion Stefanie Grob was chosen as the greatest talent in the SRF3 election.
2023-12-10 22:12:27
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