Austria's athletes of the year 2026 were honored today at the LOTTERIEN Sporthilfe Gala in Vienna.

For the 30th time, Austria's most successful athletes of the year were honored today at the LOTTERIEN Sporthilfe Gala in Vienna's Stadthalle. In the category "Athlete of the Year with a Disability," two Ski Austria stars, Johannes and Veronika Aigner, were awarded the coveted "Niki" trophy. Additionally, Olympic ski jumping champion Stephan Embacher was delighted to receive the award for Newcomer of the Year.

Johannes and Veronika Aigner, who will both be taking a break from active competitive sports in the coming season, accepted the coveted trophy one after the other and impressed Austria's sports journalists above all with their outstanding performances at the Paralympics in Milan Cortina 2026.

"This trophy means a great deal to me because it is simply associated with a great deal of appreciation."Veronika Aigner, Sportswoman of the Year with Disability 2026

Embacher voted by the public as rising star of the year

The only prize of the evening, awarded directly by the audience, also went to a local ski star: ski jumper Stephan Embacher, who won gold in the Superteam event at the Milan Cortina Olympics last winter together with Jan Hörl and also celebrated his first World Cup victory, prevailed against swimming shooting star Luka Mladenovic and freeskier Matej Svancer.

"This has been a mega year for me and I can only sincerely thank everyone who supported me."Stephan Embacher, Rising Star of the Year 2026

Gall and Flock are Austria's Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year

In the two main categories, two previously favored candidates prevailed. In the men's category, cycling superstar Felix Gall received his second Niki Award, beating out winter sports stars Johannes Lamparter and Alessandro Hämmerle. In the women's category, skeleton Olympic champion Janine Flock was named Austria's Sportswoman of the Year for the first time in her career. Giant slalom overall winner Julia Scheib and mountain bike world champion Valentina Höll finished close behind.