Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest

sports award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the

German President The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

, won important international titles like the football

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, or placed several times at international championships. To be honored with Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, an athlete or a team has to be nominated by the president of the

German Olympic Sports Confederation The German Olympic Sports Confederation (german: Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund or DOSB) was founded on 20 May 2006 by a merger of the ''Deutscher Sportbund'' (DSB), and the ''Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland'' (NOK) which dates ...

to the

. The request will be reviewed by the agency of the

and the Federal Ministry of the Interior as this agency is responsible for sport in Germany. The Federal Ministry of the Interior signs the approved application, following article 58 of the 'Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany'.

Individual honourees

Bengt Zikarsky Bengt Zikarsky (born 17 July 1967 in Erlangen) is a former freestyle swimmer from Germany, who won the bronze medal in the 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He did so alongside Christia ...

, Swimming. * Bernd Kannenberg, Race walking. Honoured 1972 * Birgit Prinz, Football *

Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...

, Tennis. Honoured in 1985 * Boris Becker and

Michael Stich Michael Detlef Stich (, ; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991, the men's doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in 1992, and was a singles r ...

, 1992 Doubles Gold Medalists. Honoured 6 October 1992. *

Claudia Nicoleitzik Claudia Nicoleitzik (born 8 December 1989) is a Paralympian athlete from Germany competing mainly in category T36 sprint events. She competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London London ...

, paralympic sprinter. Honoured in 2008 and 2016. * Dirk Nowitzki, NBA Champion 2011, NBA MVP 2007, NBA Finals MVP 2011, 13×

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

. * Edda Buding, Tennis. Honoured 1 January 1964 * Fabian Hambüchen, Gymnast. *

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the f ...

, Football. * Fritz Thiedemann, Equestrianism. Honoured 25 June 1950. * Hans Lenk, rowing. * Heinrich Popow, paralympic sprinter. Honoured on 6 November 2012 *

Helga Niessen Helga Niessen Masthoff (née Niessen; born 11 November 1941) is a retired tennis player from West Germany. Her best Grand Slam singles tournament was when she reached the 1970 French Open final, losing to Margaret Court in straight sets. She ...

, Tennis. Honoured 22 July 1970 * Inge Pohmann, Tennis. Honoured 25 June 1950. * Jens Weißflog, Ski jumping. *

Kirsten Bruhn Kirsten Bruhn (born 3 November 1969 in Eutin) is a former German female Paralympic swimmer. She learnt to swim when she was three. She began competing at ten before an accident in 1991. She was hurt during a holiday motorcycle trip on the island ...

, Paralympic swimmer. * Lena Schöneborn, Modern Pentathlon. Honoured in 2008 * Magdalena Neuner, biathlon.Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Olympioniken erhalten höchste Ehrung
''Frankfurter Rundschau''. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2011. * Mario Gómez, association football player. Honoured in 2010. * Matthias Steiner, Olympic weight-lifter. *

Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Özil is known for his technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision. He can ...

, football player, honored in 2014 *

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

, at that time, dual World Drivers Champion. Honoured in 1997. * Olaf Pollack, rower, honored in 2001 * Oliver Ortmann, Cue Sports. Honoured in 1996 *

Ralf Souquet Ralf Souquet ( ; born 29 November 1968) is a German professional pool player. His nickname is "The Kaiser". Since 1988, he has won more than 200 tournament titles, including 23 Euro Tour titles, 20 European Pool Championship and 12 German Po ...

, Cue Sports. Honoured in 1997 * Rüdiger Neitzel, Handball, 1984 * Sara Däbritz, honored 2016 *

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One histor ...

, at that time, dual World Drivers Champion. Honoured on 22 February 2012. * Steffi Graf, Tennis. *

Toni Ulmen Anton "Toni" Ulmen (25 January 1906 – 4 November 1976) was a German motorcycle and racing driver from Düsseldorf, Germany. His racing career started in 1925 on a 250 cc Velocette. In 1927 he won the opening race of the Nürburgring on a 350 c ...

, Motor Sport. Honoured in 1953 * Verena Bentele, blind Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. * Werner Grübmeyer. Honoured 1954 * Wilhelm Brem, vision-impaired Paralympic gold medalist in skiing. Honoured in 2010. * Wolfgang Güllich, Sport climbing, honoured in 1985, with Kurt Albert. * Xu Huaiwen, Badminton

Teams

* 1. TC Ludwigsburg A-Team (

formation dance Formation dance is a style of ballroom dancing. It is pattern or shadow team dancing by couples in a formation team. The choreography may be based on a particular dance or a medley of dances. Formation dancing may be done for exhibition or for compe ...

Standard, World Champion 1985–1990, 1995, 1996, 2007) * Bayern Munich (in 1967) * Braunschweiger TSC A-Team (

Standard, World Champion 1991–1994, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2011) * Deutschlandachter (for winning Olympic gold at the London 2012 Olympics) * Deutschlandachter (for winning Olympic silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics) * Germany men's national handball team (World Champion 2007) *

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football ...

(European Champion 1972, 1980, 1996 and World Champion 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) * Germany national women's wheelchair basketball team (Paralympic silver medallists 2008, Paralympic gold medallists 2012) *

Germany women's national football team The Germany women's national football team (german: Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft der Frauen) represents Germany in international women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB). The German national team ...

(European Champion 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997 and World Champion 2003, 2007) * Pinta yachting team (

One Ton Cup The One Ton Cup is a trophy presented to the winner of a sailing competition created in 1899 by the Cercle de la voile de Paris (CVP). Synopsis The One Ton Cup regattas were at the beginning of races between one-tonner sailing dinghies, acco ...

and Admiral's Cup in 1994) * Team Telekom (First place at the 1997 Tour de France) * TSG Bremerhaven A-Team (

Latin American, World Champion 1977, 1979–1981, 1983–1985, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2007) *

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. Vf ...

(for the German football championship 1950)

References

{{reflist Awards established in 1950 German sports trophies and awards 1950 establishments in Germany