On March 23, Mayor Dr. Clemens Maier honored Stuttgart’s 2025 Athletes of the Year at the Kursaal in Bad Cannstatt. Among those honored were twelve athletes from the University of Stuttgart. Four of them - the women’s 4×200-meter relay team - even made it onto the shortlist of three nominees for the 2025 Team of the Year.
The nomination was based on predefined criteria. For the expert committee, it was particularly important that the underlying achievement clearly stood out and had a national impact. Another key factor was that the athlete or team demonstrated a special commitment to sports in Stuttgart and served as a role model.
The invited athletes and other guests, such as coaches and club presidents, were able to vote for their favorites from among the nominees.
Strong contenders for the “Team of the Year” title
The University of Stuttgart athletes Anna Wieland, Elisa Lechleitner, Lena Schlag, and Luisa Herrfurth attributed their nomination to seamless relay transitions, a clear race strategy, and consistently strong performances on the track. With this victory, the team claimed the title in the 4×200-meter relay at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen in their very first race together.
The female athletes faced stiff competition for the nomination from the Cannstatt Swimming Club and the VfB Stuttgart Bundesliga soccer team, which ultimately won the title.
University of Stuttgart athletes honored
In addition to the university's women's track and field team, the men's apparatus gymnastics team was also honored: Oliver Maurer, Fabian Geyer, Lovis Spiess, Kai Herbst, Jakob Hofmann, Markus Neher, and Kilian Krapp. Both teams represented the University of Stuttgart at the 2025 University Championships and are German university champions in their respective categories.
Beyond their team successes, the athletes also stand out individually thanks to their outstanding performances. Lukas Schneider was also among those honored. He successfully represented the University of Stuttgart at the 2025 German University Championships in the individual kumite event, where he won the title of German University Champion.
Athletes' Awards Ceremony
In total, 354 athletes were honored at the awards ceremony for their achievements in 2025 – 135 women and girls, and 219 men and boys. The athletes come from 48 sports clubs in Stuttgart, sports organizations, and the Stuttgart Olympic Training Center. In terms of sports, they ended the year 2025 with at least one German championship title in national or international competitions and achieved success in a total of 38 sports, ranging from bobsledding to water diving. In addition to the Team of the Year, the Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year were also honored.