Six athletes have been inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame.
As the German Sport Aid Foundation announced, in addition to Dirk Nowitzki and Philipp Lahm, Greta Blunck, Kathrin Boron, Britta Heidemann and Maria Riesch will also receive the honor.
The official admission ceremony will take place on November 19th in Frankfurt/Main. In total, the Hall of Fame now includes 137 sports personalities who have made history through their success in competition or through their commitment to sport and society.
Greta Blunck (hockey)
Greta Blunck was a player, coach and official. With her hometown club Harvestehuder THC in Hamburg, she won nine German championships and the European Cup. She wore the national jersey 26 times, was the first woman with a hockey A coaching license and led the national team to World Cup silver in 1979. Her commitment to integration was recognized with the Federal Cross of Merit in 2008.
Kathrin Boron (rowing)
Boron is the most successful German rower with 18 medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships. She won gold at four Olympic Games between 1992 and 2004 and the bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. There are also eight world championship titles, five World Championship silver medals and six overall World Cup victories.
Britta Heidemann (fencing)
Heidemann is one of the most successful epee fencers of all time, with three Olympic medals at three Olympic Games and numerous international medals. She was the first female epee fencer in history to achieve the “Golden Triple” – she was simultaneously Olympic champion, world champion and European champion.
Philipp Lahm (football)
Philipp Lahm is one of the most successful German footballers. In 2014 he led the national team to the World Cup title as captain. With FC Bayern Munich he won the Champions League, the World Cup and numerous championships and cups. As tournament director, he was responsible for the 2024 home European Championships in Germany. He is also a recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit.
Dirk Nowitzki (basketball)
Dirk Nowitzki is considered the most outstanding German basketball player to date. He was the first European to be voted most valuable player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was nominated for the All-Star team fourteen times. He won World Cup bronze and European Championship silver with the national team, and he was the flag bearer for the German team at the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2019 he received the Federal Cross of Merit.
Maria Riesch (Alpine skiing)
Maria Riesch shaped an era in the Alpine Ski World Cup. The athlete from Garmisch-Partenkirchen won at least one medal in every major event between 2009 and 2014. Three gold medals at the Winter Olympics, two titles at world championships and winning the overall World Cup – making her one of the most successful German ski racers.
“Stand for fair play, attitude and responsibility”
The newly elected sextet “more than deserved” inclusion in the Hall of Fame, said DOSB President Thomas Weikert: “Their biographies impressively show what can be achieved with motivation, talent and passion for sport.”
In total, the six new members won 54 medals at major international events, twelve of them at the Olympic Games, 35 at the World Championships and seven at the European Championships. Next to it is the sextet “also for the values that make sport so important for our society: for fair play, togetherness, attitude and responsibility”said Max Hartung, spokesman for the Sporthilfe board: “They live their role as role models beyond the competition.”
In addition to Sporthilfe, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS) are also eligible to make nominations for the Hall of Fame. The election is ultimately made by a jury made up of all living members, representatives of Sporthilfe, the DOSB, the VDS, politicians and personalities from other sports institutions.