Four in a row: Marco Odermatt wins the Swiss Sportsman of the Year award again. The skier is touched despite his already huge trophy collection.
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- Marco Odermatt is named Swiss Sportsman of the Year at the Sports Awards for the fourth time in a row. For him, it is "the biggest and most beautiful award" that you can receive in this country.
- Roger Federer has been voted Swiss Sportsman of the Year eight times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2020). In 2008, he formed the Team of the Year together with Stan Wawrinka, which was his third consecutive personal award. Federer also received the honorary award in 2022.
- Swimming star Noè Ponti, who attracted attention with several world records, probably lacked a triumph on the biggest possible stage, i.e. at the Olympic Games, to oust Odermatt from first place.
- You can see more comments from the winners in the video above.
When asked what his fourth title at the Sports Awards meant to him, Odermatt said it was "the biggest and most beautiful award" that you can receive in Swiss sport. Since 2021, the man from Nidwalden has won the Best Sportsman award - usually by a very clear margin. In the first year it was 34%, last year almost half of all votes. In 2022 and 2024, the result was a good 44% in each case.
This is not a matter of course. Especially in this year, when the Summer Games, a major event, had the potential to push alpine skiers somewhat into the background. However, as the big Olympic triumph failed to materialize, at least in the men's category, Odermatt was once again the winner.
Federer won the Sportsman of the Year award a total of eight times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2020), but never more than twice in a row. If you add his success in 2008, when Federer won together with Stan Wawrinka in the Team of the Year category, it was three triumphs in a row. Marco Odermatt has now also broken this mark with his fourth consecutive triumph.
World record hunter Noè Ponti probably lacked the Olympic medal
With Noè Ponti, a young athlete seems to be waiting in the wings to possibly steal Odermatt's thunder among the Swiss. The swimmer from Ticino, who set several world records in the fall, probably lacked the Olympic medal to win more than a quarter of the votes. Unlike in alpine skiing, however, swimmers need the big stage to draw attention to their successes.
For Odermatt, meanwhile, it is clear that he must continue to focus on the future. He has been the big hunted for a long time anyway, and at the age of 27 he is constantly setting his sights on new sporting records. "With every success, you know that you're on the right track. It's then a matter of turning the right screws to get even better." He doesn't feel any pressure. Instead, he is particularly motivated to succeed where he has not yet done so - for example in the downhill in Kitzbühel, his big goal for the season.
But first on the agenda are the races in the Bernese Oberland, Adelboden and Wengen. "I don't have to prove anything to anyone here and can just enjoy it," said Odermatt, looking forward to the next two weeks. It is this relaxed approach that helps him to take on the next challenges without pressure - and often master them.
