The biggest winners of the sporting year 2016
From Olympic titles to a new tennis queen, to a one-off Formula One champion, 2016 was filled with outstanding sporting achievements. Here's a look at the biggest winners of the year that was.
A new queen of tennis
Applause from her biggest rival: Serena Williams (left) was gracious in defeat to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open. Kerber would go on to win the US Open and topple Williams from her post as the world's No. 1, becoming the first German to hold the honor since Steffi Graf. In Rio she won a silver medal. Add it all up and she was a logical choice as Germany's female athlete of the year.
A long time coming
Having won Wimbledon and the Olympic tournament, Andy Murray thrashed Novak Djokovic to win the ATP Tour Finals in London. The Scotsman thus knocked the Serbian off his pedestal as world No. 1 on the men's side - after 122 weeks at the top. It took 12 years of professional tennis for Murray to reach the No. 1 ranking for the first time.
Remarkable achievement
Jan Frodeno achieved something that is truly remarkable, defending his title at the most demanding triathlon in the world, the Ironman at Hawaii. Having won the title in 2015, on year later he became the first German to successfully defend his crown.
The greatest Olympian
Untouchable: American swimmer Michael Phelps has ended his career as the most successful Olympian of all time, having won a total of 23 gold medals. Five of those he won at the Rio Games - along with a silver. Now he will have more time for his young family, wife Nicole (above, right) and son Boomer (second from right).
The fastest man
Gold, gold and yet another gold for Usain Bolt. In Rio, the Jamaican recreated his achievements from Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, winning gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and the 4x100-meters relay. The track-and-field athlete of the year and 11-time world champion plans to call time on his sprinting career in 2017.
Team of the year
2016 was a dream year for Laura Ludwig (above, left) and Kira Wlakenhorst. The two beach volleyballers won just about everything there is to win in the sport, including the gold medal in Rio. The two Germans snatched gold from under the noses of the Brazlian duo, who were playing on home beach at the Copacabana. They were later named Germany's team of the year.
Successful dark horses
Nobody saw this one coming: Germany's handballers went into the European championship in Poland as dark horses but pulled off a surprising title win. The secret to their success was the Icelandic coach Dagur Sigurdsson, who put together a team that would go on to win bronze at the Rio Games as well.
Gold, finally!
Fabian Hambüchen finally won gold on the horizontal bar at the Rio Olympic Games, after having won bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver four years later in London. Twelve years after making his first appearance at the Olympics, Hambüchen went out on top, retiring from gymnastics after the Rio Games.
First gold, then black red and gold.
First European title, then a pair of Olympic golds; 2016 couldn't have gone much better for Sebastian Brendel (middle). The German won gold in the C-1 1,000 meters and the C-2 1,000 meters along with Jan Vandrey. As a reward, the 1.92-meter (6 foot 4) athlete was given the honor of carrying the German flag into Rio's Maracana Stadium for the closing ceremonies.
Paralympic star
Markus Rehm had hoped to do what Oscar Pistorius did in London, to compete as a disabled athletes at the Olympic games. However, the IAAF failed to approve his application to do so. Weeks later he did compete at the Paralympic Games in Rio, where he won gold in the long jump ad the 4x100-meters relay. l.
Controversial but successful
Citicized as a "plastic club" by many traditionalists, RB Leipzig overachieved in the first 16 Matchdays of the Bundesliga season, recording the best record ever for a newly promoted team over that number of matches. Coach Ralf Hasenüttel's (above, left) team beat such big clubs as Schalke, Leverkusen and Dortmund on the way to (temporarily) dislodging Bayern Munich from the top of the table.
Double winner
Cristiano Ronaldo (third from right) won new fans and a lot more at Euro 2016 in France. The Real Madrid star suffered through an injury in the final, cheering his Portuguese team on to victory from the bench. This was Portugal's first major championship, and Cristiano Ronaldo's second of 2016 - to go along with the Champions League title won with Madrid a couple of months earlier.
Going out on top
Few athletes manage to go out on top. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg is a member of this rare breed: Just days after having won his first Formula One drivers' title, Rosberg, 31, announced his retirement. Rosberg explained that by becoming the third German to win the championship, he had achieved his lifelong goal and that it was time to spend more time with his young family.