Sportsperson of the Year 2023: Anna Meixner nomi­nated for Sports­woman of the Year

Anna Meixner is in the form of her life. The 29-year-old confirmed this herself in an interview ahead of the Division IA World Championship last August. In Sweden, she received the Golden Helmet for the best player of the regular season, among several other honours. At the World Championship itself, she led the team as captain and scored three goals.

The reigning Austrian and win2day ICE Hockey League champions EC Red Bull Salzburg are also among the 21 teams in contention for "Team of the Year".

Voting is open until 20 September and is exclusively open to members of the Sports Media Austria journalists' association. The winners will be announced live on ORF 1 at 20:15 on 12 October as part of the Lotterien-Sporthilfe Gala.

These are the nominees selected by a jury in the Sportswoman, Sportsman and Team of the Year categories, as well as further candidates in other categories open for voting (in alphabetical order in each case):

Sportswoman of the Year

• Vasiliki ALEXANDRI (artistic swimming) - 2 x World Championship silver (technical routine and free routine)
• Avital CARROLL (freestyle skiing) - 2 x World Championship bronze (moguls, dual moguls)
• Sarah DREIER (ski mountaineering) - World Championship silver in vertical, overall Vertical World Cup winner
• Anna GASSER (snowboarding) - World Championship gold in big air
• Susanne GOGL-WALLI (athletics) - 4th place at the European Championships, 400 m
• Vanessa HERZOG (speed skating) - World Championship silver over 500 m, European Championship bronze in the sprint all-around, second in the overall 500 m World Cup
• Valentina HÖLL (mountain biking) - World Championship gold in downhill
• Victoria HUDSON (athletics) - 5th place at the World Championships in javelin throw
• Cornelia HÜTTER (alpine skiing) - World Championship bronze in super-G, two World Cup wins
• Andrea MAYR (athletics) - World Championship gold in vertical mountain running
• Anna MEIXNER (ice hockey) - MVP of the Swedish league, league final with Brynas
• Mona MITTERWALLNER (mountain biking) - World Championship gold in marathon, European Championship silver in cross-country, 1st World Cup victory over the Olympic distance
• Katrin OFNER (ski cross) - World Championship silver
• Nina ORTLIEB (alpine skiing) - World Championship silver in downhill
• Jessica PILZ (climbing) - World Championship silver in combined
• Eva PINKELNIG (ski jumping) - overall World Cup winner, 2 x World Championship silver (individual, team)
• Michaela POLLERES (judo) - World Championship bronze
• Christina SCHWEINBERGER (cycling) - World Championship bronze in the individual time trial, 5th place in the World Championship road race #
• Sylvia STEINER (shooting) - World Championship gold in the 50 m pistol, World Championship bronze in the 25 m pistol
• Daniela ULBING (snowboard) - World Championship silver in PGS, overall World Cup winner in the mixed team event

Sportsman of the Year

• David ALABA (football) - Club World Cup winner with Real Madrid
• Mykola BILYK (handball) - German champion with THW Kiel
• Jakob DUSEK (snowboard) - World Championship gold in snowboard cross, World Championship silver in the mixed team event
• Felix GALL (cycling) - 8th place at the Tour de France, stage victory on the queen stage, runner-up in the mountains classification
• Thomas KAMMERLANDER (natural track luge) - overall World Cup winner, World Championship bronze in the men's singles
• Thomas KLEPEISZ (basketball) - German champion with Ulm as captain
• Andreas KOLB (cycling/mountain biking) - World Championship silver in downhill, first Austrian World Cup winner in downhill
• Stefan KRAFT (ski jumping) - runner-up in the overall World Cup, overall Ski Flying World Cup winner
• Vincent KRIECHMAYR (alpine skiing) - 2nd in the downhill World Cup, downhill victories at the classics in Kitzbühel, Gröden and Bormio, 3rd in the Super-G World Cup
• Johannes LAMPARTER (nordic combined) - overall World Cup winner, 3 x World Championship bronze, winner of the Seefeld Triple
• Lukas MÜLLAUER (freestyle skiing) - World Championship silver in big air
• Jonas MÜLLER (artificial track luge) - World Championship gold in the men's singles, 2 x World Championship silver (sprint and team relay)
• Jakob PÖLTL (basketball) - key player and leading rebounder for NBA club Toronto Raptors
• Andreas PROMMEGGER (snowboard) - World Championship gold in parallel slalom, World Championship silver in the mixed team event, overall World Cup winner in the mixed team event
• Bernhard RAIMANN (American football) - first Austrian outfield player in the NFL
• Alexander SCHMIRL (shooting) - World Championship gold in the small-bore three-position event, World Championship silver in the team small-bore three-position event, European Championship bronze in the individual event, European Championship silver in the team event
• Jakob SCHUBERT (climbing) - 2 x World Championship gold (combined, lead), most successful climber in World Championship history
• Marco SCHWARZ (alpine skiing) - World Championship silver in the combined, World Championship bronze in giant slalom
• Sepp STRAKA (golf) - 2nd British Open, 2nd victory on the PGA Tour (John Deere Classic in Silvis), 7th PGA-Championship (first Austrian to finish in the top ten at a major), nominated for Ryder Cup Team Europe
• Fabian UNTERKIRCHER (hockey) - best player at the Indoor World Championship

Team of the Year (alphabetical by sport)

• American football - AFBÖ men's national team - European Championship final
• American football - Vienna Vikings - perfect ELF regular season
• Basketball - Swans Gmunden - men's triple winners: champions, cup winners, Super Cup winners
• Biathlon - Lisa Hauser/David Komatz - World Championship silver in the mixed team relay
• Ice hockey - RB Salzburg - champions and ICE winners
• Fistball - ÖFBB men's team - World Championship silver
• Formula 1 - Red Bull Racing - 14 wins in 14 World Championship races during the 2022 season, winners of the World Constructors' Championship
• Football - SKN St. Pölten women - champions and cup winners
• Football - RB Salzburg - champions
• Football - ÖFB men's national team - unbeaten in the ongoing European Championship qualifiers
• Handball - Union Westwien men - league title in their farewell to professional handball
• Hockey - ÖHV men's national team - indoor World Championship gold, indoor European Championship gold (2022)
• Hockey - ÖHV women's national team - indoor World Championship silver
• Nordic combined - Ski Austria mixed team - World Championship mixed team bronze (Lisa Hirner, Annalena Slamik, Stefan Rettenegger, Johannes Lamparter)
• Luge - Selina Egle/Lara Kipp - 2 x World Championship silver (doubles, sprint), overall Sprint World Cup winners, second in the overall World Cup
• Ski jumping - Ski Austria women's team - World Championship normal hill silver (Chiara Kreuzer, Julia Mühlbacher, Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Eva Pinkelnig)
• Snowboard - Sabine Schöffmann/Andreas Prommegger - World Championship silver in the mixed team PSL
• Show jumping - Austria team (OEPS) - historic European Championship bronze (Gerfried Puck, Katharina Rhomberg, Max Kühner, Alessandra Reich)
• Synchronised swimming - Anna-Maria and Eirini Marina Alexandri - World Championship gold in the free routine, 2 x European Championship gold (free routine and technical routine)
• Table tennis - Linz AG Froschberg women - Champions League semi-finals, league title
• Volleyball - Linz-Steg women - triple of league title, cup win and Super Cup win

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

• Barbara AIGNER (guide: Klara Sykora - alpine skiing) - visually impaired class B2: World Championship slalom silver, World Championship giant slalom bronze
• Veronika AIGNER (guide: Elisabeth Aigner – alpine skiing) – visually impaired class B2: World Championship gold in slalom and giant slalom, overall World Cup winner
• Natalija EDER (athletics) – visually impaired class: World Championship bronze in javelin throw
• Carina EDLINGER (cross-country skiing, biathlon) – visually impaired class B2: World Championship gold in the sprint, World Championship bronze in the 10km freestyle, World Championship bronze in the 10km biathlon
• Henriette KOOSZ (badminton) – European Championship bronze in singles, European Championship silver in mixed doubles
• Yvonne MARZINKE (cycling) – class C2: World Championship bronze, 3rd place at the European Para Championships in the road race and time trial
• Jasmin PLANK (climbing) – class R2: World Championship silver
• Edith SCHEINECKER (climbing) – class B2: World Championship silver
• Sabine WEBER-TREIBER (swimming) – World Championship bronze in the 50m freestyle

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

• Johannes AIGNER (guide: Matteo Fleischmann – alpine skiing) – visually impaired class B2: World Championship gold in the combined and downhill, World Championship silver in the Super-G and giant slalom, overall World Cup winner
• Florian BRUNGRABER (triathlon) – seated class: European Championship silver
• Thomas FRÜHWIRTH (cycling) – class H4: World Championship gold in the time trial, World Championship gold at the Ironman, World Championship bronze in the road race, 1st place at the European Para Championships in the time trial, 2nd place in the road race
• Thomas GEIERSPICHLER (athletics) – class T52: World Championship silver in the 1.500m
• Alexander GRITSCH (cycling) – class H4: World Championship silver in the time trial, 2nd place at the European Para Championships in the time trial
• Franz Josef LASSER (cycling) – class C5: World Championship silver in track sprint
• Markus SALCHER (alpine skiing) – standing class: World Championship gold in downhill and Super-G
• Angelino ZELLER (climbing) – class AL1: World Championship gold -------------------------------------

Special Olympics Sportswoman of the Year

• Kerstin HOLZER (Styria, cycling) – 1x bronze at the 2023 World Games
• Cornelia ZEHNER (Salzburg, cycling) – 1x gold at the 2023 World Games
• Sandra ZIRBISEGGER (Lower Austria, judo) – 1x gold at the 2023 World Games

Special Olympics Sportsman of the Year

• Hans-Peter FLECK (Burgenland, cycling) – 1x gold and 1x bronze at the 2023 World Games
• Sascha MAIKL (Tyrol, powerlifting) – 1x silver and 2x bronze at the 2023 World Games
• Erik-Marc SCHIRMER (Upper Austria, boccia) – 1x gold and 2x bronze at the World Games 2023