Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...

. 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 German President. The request will be reviewed by the agency of the German President and the

Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

as this agency is responsible for sport in Germany. The

signs the approved application, following article 58 of the 'Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany'.

Individual honourees

* Bengt Zikarsky, Swimming. *

Bernd Kannenberg Bernd Kannenberg (20 August 1942 – 13 January 2021) was a West German race walker who won the 50 km event at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the 20 km at the 1972 and 1976 Games, but failed to finish. In 1972 Kanne ...

, Race walking. Honoured 1972 *

Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen- ...

, Football * Boris Becker, 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, paralympic sprinter. Honoured in 2008 and 2016. *

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

NBA Champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

2011,

NBA MVP The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...

2007,

NBA Finals MVP The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...

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 Edda Buding (13 November 1936 – 15 July 2014) was a German tennis player of Romanian birth. She received the doubles gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics doubles demonstration event partnered with Helga Niessen Masthoff. Along with Yola Ramí ...

, Tennis. Honoured 1 January 1964 *

Fabian Hambüchen Fabian Hambüchen (also spelled Hambuechen; ; born 25 October 1987) is a retired German gymnast who was a four-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and was Olympic, World, and European champion. Fabian also won gold medals at European Games a ...

, Gymnast. * Franz Beckenbauer, Football. *

Fritz Thiedemann Fritz Thiedemann (; 3 March 1918 – 8 January 2000) was a German equestrian, considered to be one of the greatest show jumpers of his time. Biography Thiedemann was born as the son of a farmer. His riding talents became clear at a young age, b ...

Equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

. Honoured 25 June 1950. *

Hans Lenk Hans Lenk (born 23 March 1935) is a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics, and an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy. He was born in Berlin. In 1960, he was a crew member of the West German boat wh ...

, rowing. *

Heinrich Popow Heinrich Popow (born 14 July 1983) is a German sprinter. At the Paralympics 2012 in London he won Gold in 100 metres sprint. During his career he has been the World and European Champion in 100 metres sprint and World Champion in the long jum ...

, 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 w ...

, Tennis. Honoured 22 July 1970 *

Inge Pohmann Inge Pohmann (''née'' Hartelt; 1921 or 1922 – 26 January 2005) was a German female tennis player whose career lasted from the end of World War II until the mid-1950s. Pohmann won the German national singles title in 1950, 1951 and 1953. She ...

, Tennis. Honoured 25 June 1950. *

Jens Weißflog Jens Weißflog (, ; born 21 July 1964) is a German former ski jumper. He is one of the best and most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport. Only Finns Matti Nykänen and Janne Ahonen, Poles Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch and Austria ...

, 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 Lena Schöneborn (born April 11, 1986 in Troisdorf, West Germany) is a German pentathlete, who won the gold medal in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is living in Berlin and besides Pentathlon she is studying Marketing. She ...

, Modern Pentathlon. Honoured in 2008 *

Magdalena Neuner Magdalena "Lena" Neuner (; since her 2014 marriage legally Magdalena Holzer; born 9 February 1987) is a retired German professional biathlete. She is the most successful woman of all time at Biathlon World Championships and a two-time Olympic ...

, biathlon.Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Olympioniken erhalten höchste Ehrung
''Frankfurter Rundschau''. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2011. *

Mario Gómez Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented the Germany national team over a period of 11 years between 2007 and 2018. Gómez began his professional career with ...

, association football player. Honoured in 2010. *

Matthias Steiner Matthias Steiner (; born 25 August 1982 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian-German weightlifter, and Olympic gold medalist. As a native Austrian, he competed for Austria internationally from 1998 to 2005, in European Championships, World Champions ...

, Olympic weight-lifter. * Mesut Özil, 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 Olaf Pollack (born 20 September 1973) is a German former professional track and road racing cyclist specializing in sprint races and competitions. Track race At the 2000 Olympic Games, Pollack entered the team pursuit and the madison. Pollack r ...

, rower, honored in 2001 *

Oliver Ortmann Oliver Ortmann (born 11 June 1967) is a German professional pool player from Gelsenkirchen. Ortmann is a three-time world champion, winning the 1995 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the 2007 and 2010 World Straight Pool Championship. Ortman ...

, 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 Pool C ...

, Cue Sports. Honoured in 1997 *

Rüdiger Neitzel Rüdiger Neitzel (born 16 March 1963) is a former West German handball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Therefore he and all players of the team were awarded with the Silver Lorel Leaf, Germany's highest sport award. He was a me ...

, Handball, 1984 *

Sara Däbritz Sara Ilonka Däbritz (born 15 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Germany national team. Club career Däbritz began her junior career at SpVgg SV Weiden and SC ...

, honored 2016 * Sebastian Vettel, at that time, dual World Drivers Champion. Honoured on 22 February 2012. *

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...

, 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 ...

, Motor Sport. Honoured in 1953 *

Verena Bentele Verena Bentele (born 28 February 1982, in Lindau) is a blind German Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind and partially sighted in Marburg, Germany. She won her firs ...

, blind Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. *

Werner Grübmeyer Werner Grübmeyer (1 June 1926 Lehe (Bremerhaven, Germany) – 5 October 2018Renate Funke: Authentisch, transparent, nachvollziehbar: Ehrenbürger – Archiv Werner Grübmeyer.' In: Unser Harz, 2, 2021, S. 32–34. Hannover) was a Germans, German ...

. Honoured 1954 *

Wilhelm Brem Wilhelm Brem (born 23 November 1977) is a Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier representing Germany in the Winter Paralympics and the IPC World Championships. He often skis with Florian Grimm as his guide. As of the 2014 Winter Paralymp ...

, vision-impaired Paralympic gold medalist in skiing. Honoured in 2010. *

Wolfgang Güllich Wolfgang Güllich (24 October 1960 – 31 August 1992) was a German rock climber, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. Güllich dominated sport climbing for most of the decade after his ...

, Sport climbing, honoured in 1985, with

Kurt Albert Kurt Albert (January 28, 1954 – September 28, 2010) was a climber and photographer. He started climbing at the age of 14. Before he committed himself to a career of climbing in 1986, he was a mathematics and physics teacher. Climbing career ...

. *

Xu Huaiwen Huaiwen Xu (; born 2 August 1975) is a German badminton player. Born in Guiyang, Guizhou, China, she decided to play for Germany because the Chinese thought that she was too short to play professional world badminton.Said by David Mercer/ Gill ...

, 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 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

) * Deutschlandachter (for winning Olympic silver at the

Rio 2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

) *

Germany men's national handball team The Germany national handball team is one of the most successful handball teams in the world, having won three World Championships and two European Championship. Honours Competitive record ''For East Germany team rec ...

(World Champion 2007) *

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

(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, acc ...

and

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...

in 1994) *

Team Telekom A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...

(First place at the

1997 Tour de France The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th edition of the Tour de France and took place from 5 to 27 July. Jan Ullrich's victory margin of 9:09 was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10:32. Since 1997 no ...

) * 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. VfB Stu ...

(for the German football championship 1950)

References

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