Olympic champion Gasser and UEFA Champions League winner Alaba named Austria’s athletes of the year
Snowboarder Anna Gasser is Austria’s Sportswoman of the Year (Photo by Gepa Pictures)
VIENNA, October 24, 2022 – Snowboarder Anna Gasser and footballer David Alaba are Austria’s athletes of the year 2022, while FC RB Salzburg received the award for Team of the Year. Siblings Veronika and Johannes Aigner were honoured as athletes of the year with disabilities.
Members of Sports Media Austria voted for the male and female athletes of the year and the team of the year. SMA President Michael Schuen explained the election procedure. “A total of 233 colleagues voted. Each member could award places 1 to 5 in the categories. First place counts as 7 points, second place 4 points, third place 3 points etc.”
Alaba, UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid, amassed 607 points to win the Sportsman of the Year award for the third time after 2013 and 2014. He was followed closely by alpine ski racers Matthias Mayer (605) and Johannes Strolz (595).
Gasser, who defended her gold medal in the Big Air competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games and took second place in the Freestyle World Cup, was voted in the first place by 123 sports journalists and got a total of 1,084 points. Second place in the Sportswoman of the Year award went to overall ski jumping World Cup winner Sara Marita Kramer, who got 470 points, while third place went to two-time European table tennis champion Sofia Polcanova, who got 401 points.
In the team category, FC RB Salzburg won the Team of the Year accolade for the fifth time with 691 points. The Austria women's national team came in second with 562 points ahead of the Austrian Ski Jumping Team with 534 points.
The Special Olympics trophies went to Cecily Hoyos and Jürgen Rojko. Rising Star of the Year went to Johannes Strolz, while ÖFB team boss Irene Fuhrmann won Coach of the Year. Christopher Wernitznig and Luka Lochoshvili received the award for the most emotional sporting moment. Philipp Jelinek was named the Athlete with Heart. The Special Award went to none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The athletes of the year were chosen by the members of Sports Media Austria, local sports fans were asked for their votes in the categories Rising Star of the Year and Athlete with Heart, and a Sport Austria expert jury chose the Coach of the Year. The Lotterien Sporthilfe-Gala 2022 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in front of 1,200 guests, including Vice Chancellor and Minister of Sports Werner Kogler. The event was also broadcast live on ORF 1.
All honorees at a glance
Sportswoman of the Year - Anna Gasser, snowboard
Sportsman of the Year - David Alaba, football
Team of the year - RB Salzburg, football
Athlete of the year with disabilities - Veronika Aigner, alpine skiing
Athletes with disabilities - Johannes Aigner, alpine skiing
Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year - Cecily Hoyos, Equestrian
Special Olympics Athlete of the Year - Jürgen Rojko, tennis
Rising Star of the year - Johannes Strolz, alpine skiing
Coach of the Year presented by IMMO contract: Irene Fuhrmann, football
Athlete with heart - Philipp Jelinek
Sports Moment of the Year - Christopher Wernitznig and Luka Lochoshvili
Special Award - Arnold Schwarzenegger
Members of Sports Media Austria voted for the male and female athletes of the year and the team of the year. SMA President Michael Schuen explained the election procedure. “A total of 233 colleagues voted. Each member could award places 1 to 5 in the categories. First place counts as 7 points, second place 4 points, third place 3 points etc.”
Alaba, UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid, amassed 607 points to win the Sportsman of the Year award for the third time after 2013 and 2014. He was followed closely by alpine ski racers Matthias Mayer (605) and Johannes Strolz (595).
Gasser, who defended her gold medal in the Big Air competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games and took second place in the Freestyle World Cup, was voted in the first place by 123 sports journalists and got a total of 1,084 points. Second place in the Sportswoman of the Year award went to overall ski jumping World Cup winner Sara Marita Kramer, who got 470 points, while third place went to two-time European table tennis champion Sofia Polcanova, who got 401 points.
In the team category, FC RB Salzburg won the Team of the Year accolade for the fifth time with 691 points. The Austria women's national team came in second with 562 points ahead of the Austrian Ski Jumping Team with 534 points.
The Special Olympics trophies went to Cecily Hoyos and Jürgen Rojko. Rising Star of the Year went to Johannes Strolz, while ÖFB team boss Irene Fuhrmann won Coach of the Year. Christopher Wernitznig and Luka Lochoshvili received the award for the most emotional sporting moment. Philipp Jelinek was named the Athlete with Heart. The Special Award went to none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The athletes of the year were chosen by the members of Sports Media Austria, local sports fans were asked for their votes in the categories Rising Star of the Year and Athlete with Heart, and a Sport Austria expert jury chose the Coach of the Year. The Lotterien Sporthilfe-Gala 2022 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in front of 1,200 guests, including Vice Chancellor and Minister of Sports Werner Kogler. The event was also broadcast live on ORF 1.
All honorees at a glance
Sportswoman of the Year - Anna Gasser, snowboard
Sportsman of the Year - David Alaba, football
Team of the year - RB Salzburg, football
Athlete of the year with disabilities - Veronika Aigner, alpine skiing
Athletes with disabilities - Johannes Aigner, alpine skiing
Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year - Cecily Hoyos, Equestrian
Special Olympics Athlete of the Year - Jürgen Rojko, tennis
Rising Star of the year - Johannes Strolz, alpine skiing
Coach of the Year presented by IMMO contract: Irene Fuhrmann, football
Athlete with heart - Philipp Jelinek
Sports Moment of the Year - Christopher Wernitznig and Luka Lochoshvili
Special Award - Arnold Schwarzenegger
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