Austria’s athletes of the year were honored at the Lotterien Sporthilfe Gala in the Marx Halle in Vienna on Tuesday evening. Austria’s top army athletes were once again among the favorites for the coveted trophy. A total of six army athletes made it into the top 5 of the athletes’ poll. The winner’s trophy was named after Austria’s motorsport idol Niki Lauda.
The election for Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year took place again this year. Despite corona, the election was able to take place in Vienna under changed circumstances. The Sporthilfe Austria gala, which was broadcast live on ORF1, was therefore accompanied by strict safety and hygiene measures. The 537 members of Sports Media Austria voted online for the nominees in a total of seven categories (including Sportswoman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability and Sportsman of the Year with a Disability). The jury’s decision was based on the respective performances and results of the nominees in the 2020 sports year.
The Austrian Armed Forces were represented by two top athletes in the “Disabled Athlete of the Year” category. Thomas Frühwirth (handbike) and Markus Swoboda (canoe) were nominated. Both athletes have been part of the Austrian Armed Forces’ sports promotion program since 2017. Thomas Frühwirth has been active in disabled sports since 2008, initially primarily in paratriathlon, but then increasingly on his handbike. In 2016, Frühwirth won the silver medal in this category at the Paralympic Games in Rio in the individual time trial. Markus Swoboda specializes in the sport of canoeing. Since 2010, the army athlete has already won 6 gold and 3 silver medals at world championships, as well as the silver medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. With Natalja Eder (javelin throw), army sport was also represented in the category “Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability”. Born in Belarus, she came to Austria in 2003 and won a bronze medal for Austria at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The army athlete was able to confirm this success with another bronze medal in her discipline at the 2016 Games in Rio. Four of the five best “Sportswomen of the Year” were female soldiers from the Austrian Armed Forces. Army Sport nominated platoon leader Janine Flock (skeleton), last year’s winner Corporal Vanessa Herzog (speed skating), Corporal Ivona Dadic (athletics) and Corporal Chiara Hölzl (ski jumping). Ivona Dadic, who had already been nominated twice before, was ultimately able to prevail against last year’s winner Vanessa Herzog and ski jumper Chiara Hölzl. Corporal Dadic, a competitive athlete in the Austrian Armed Forces since 2012, was runner-up at the indoor championships in Birmingham in 2018 and set the annual world best in the all-around meeting in Götzis this year. This makes her the fifth female athlete to receive the Sportswoman of the Year award.
