Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu
On Saturday 6 December 2025, the Luxembourg Athletics Federation (Fédération Luxembourgeoise d'Athlétisme – FLA) held its annual Awards Night at the Coque National Sports and Culture Centre in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, recognising the top athletics performers of 2025.
Luxembourg sprinter Patrizia Van der Weken and middle-distance runner Ruben Querinjean were named Female and Male Athletes of the Year 2025. Van der Weken, bronze medallist in the women’s 60m at both the 2025 World Indoor Championships and European Indoor Championships, topped the women’s standings with 1,199 points but was unable to attend the ceremony.
Ruben Querinjean, who earned 1,223 points in the men’s category, enjoyed a standout season in 2025. He won the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Brussels Diamond League, setting a new national record of 8:09.47, before securing gold at the FISU World University Games in the same discipline. Speaking to Chronicle.lu, he said: “That’s the first one in my career. Yeah, it’s amazing. I didn’t know - they don’t show me the points. I didn’t know I had more points from the federation. I knew it was good, but I didn’t know it was better than Patrizia. So yeah, I’m happy to have it for the first time.”
Both athletes had also been recognised as the country’s top performers of 2025 by sportspress.lu just two days earlier.
The federation also recognised two emerging athletes as Nouwesstalents 2025. Damien Pechon, who broke national U18 records in both the 2,000m steeplechase and 3,000m, and Uyana Granger, who set new national marks in the U18 100m and U23 400m hurdles categories, were honoured for their breakthrough performances.
The federation also presented awards to the best athletes and coaches across various youth and senior categories, while CA FOLA was recognised as Club of the Year.
Additional honours were given for standout performances in individual disciplines. In sprint and hurdles, the awards went to Patrizia Van der Weken and David Friederich; in middle- and long-distance, to Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann and Ruben Querinjean. Melody Koffi and Charel Gaspar received the jumping awards, whilst Stéphanie Krumlovsky and Sven Forster were honoured in the throws category. For road running, the winners were again Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann and Ruben Querinjean.
The ceremony also featured an official farewell to Tokyo 2020 Olympic 1,500m finalist Charles Grethen, who has decided to retire at the age of 33. To mark the occasion, he was presented with a commemorative photograph from the Olympic Games. “Thank you very much. This means a great deal to me. Tokyo was an unforgettable moment in my career, and I am grateful for all the support I’ve received over the years. I’ve had the chance to compete at major championships and share many special moments with the athletics community. Thank you for everything,” said Charles Grethen.
