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Athletes of the year

December 21, 2009

In a tradition that dates back to 1947, German sports journalists have voted on the man, woman, and team who impacted the world of German sports the most over the past twelve months.

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Paul Biedermann and Steffi Nerius
Paul Biedermann and Steffi Nerius show off their awardsImage: AP

All told, around 1400 journalists cast their ballots for the German sports awards, which were presented at a ceremony Sunday night in Baden Baden.

In 2009, the spotlight fell on one of the female stars from this summer's World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the only man to beat Michael Phelps in a major swimming competition since 2005, and the women's national soccer team for their clear dominance over their European competitors.

Steffi Nerius throws for gold

After the opening weekend of the World Athletics Championships in August, the biggest star to emerge from Berlin's Olympic Stadium was Usain Bolt, whose record-breaking 100-meter dash on the competition's second day captivated Germans and out-of-town visitors alike.

Steffi Nerius celebrates her gold medal
Nerius's first throw was good enough for goldImage: AP

Two days later, Bolt had competition for the newspaper headlines, and it was from a member of the home team.

When Steffi Nerius stepped to the line of the finals in the javelin competition, Germany had yet to produce a single gold medal winner. Tournament organizers had staggered the events so there was a German gold medal hopeful on each of the nine days of competition, but on the fourth day, they were still waiting for the first German champion.

Nerius's first throw of the finals sailed 67.30 meters, which held as the best mark throughout the entire competition.

When eventual Czech silver medalist Barbora Spotakova's final throw of the event failed to beat Nerius' mark, Nerius raised her arms in the air and celebrated Germany's first gold of the competition, with a stadium full of loud supporters cheering her on. It was the first world championship gold medal of the 37-year-old's career.

Before the World Championships began, there had been fears that Germany would repeat its performance from the Beijing Olympics and come up short in the medals column. But after Nerius set the precedent, German athletes went on to take home a total of two gold, three silver, and four bronze medals, which represented a successful competition for the host nation.

Paul Biedermann upsets Michael Phelps

New world records were practically a drop in the deep end at the World Swimming Championships in Rome last July. Controversial new swimsuits, made partially or entirely out of polyurethane, seemed to be giving swimmers who wore them a slight edge, and as a result, 43 world records fell at the meet in Rome.

Paul Biedermann clinches gold in the 200m freestyle
Biedermann bested the world record - and Michael Phelps - in the 200m freestyleImage: AP

Paul Biedermann grabbed two of those records, and they happened to be two of the most impressive of the entire competition.

Wearing a full-body polyurethane suit, Biedermann bested legendary Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe's world record in the 400 meter freestyle, a mark that many in the sport thought would be safe for many years.

Biedermann's next record was even more impressive, especially because of the man he handily beat in the race. In the 200´-meter freestyle, Biedermann shattered American Michael Phelps's world record time by over a second, and handed Phelps his only silver medal in world or Olympic competition since 2005.

Phelps didn't wear one of the all-polyurethane suits against Biedermann, but still praised the 23-year-old German's performance.

"Paul swam a great race. I did not have anything in the last 50 meters," Phelps said after the swim. "In the race I was beaten by the swimmer, not the suit."

Starting in 2010, swimming's governing body FINA will implement a ban on all-polyurethane suits, but eight-time Beijing gold medallist Michael Phelps has a new top rival for next season: Germany's Paul Biedermann.

Women's national team wins European Championships

German soccer fans remember well the impressive march by Bundesliga squad Vfl Wolfsburg to the German Championship at the end of the 2008/2009 Bundesliga season. It was the first title in the team's history. But to be considered Germany's best team of the year, one title just isn't enough.

Inka Grings celebrates a goal
Inka Grings had six goals to celebrate at this year's European ChampionshipImage: DPA

Seven is more appropriate - the number of titles the German women's national soccer team has after winning the 2009 European Championship in Finland by convincingly beating England 6-2 in the final.

Winning yet another title continued an impressive streak for the German women. In European Championship competition, the team remains unbeaten since 1995. That's a total of 26 matches, and five titles in a row. In fact, since the first women's European Championship took place in 1984, only two other countries - Sweden once and Norway twice - have won the title other than Germany.

Like squads in the past, the 2009 European Champions simply overpowered their opponents. In the six matches played by the German side in Finland, they scored 21 goals against their opponents' 5 goals combined. Six of those goals came from striker Inka Grings, and the rest came from a team effort of nine other goal scorers.

2009 marks the second time the women's national team has been elected team of the year by German sports journalists. The first was in 2003, after the team won its first women's World Cup. They followed it up with another title in 2007, and have a shot at their third straight World Cup in 2011 as the host country.

mz/DPA/SID
Editor: Michael Lawton