Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 4 December 2025, the Committee of the Luxembourg Sports Press Association (sportspress.lu) announced the winners of the Male Athlete, Female Athlete, Coach and Team of the Year 2025 awards during its annual Awards Night ceremony at Casino 2000 in Mondorf-les-Bains.

Luxembourg sprinter Patrizia Van der Weken, bronze medallist in the women’s 60m at both the World Indoor Championships and European Indoor Championships 2025, claimed the Trophy for Best Female Athlete for a second consecutive year, securing 446 points in the vote. She finished ahead of triathlete Jeanne Lehair, who received 375 points.

The Best Male Athlete award went to 23-year-old Ruben Querinjean (446 points), also representing athletics. In 2025, he won the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Brussels Diamond League, setting a new national record of 8:09.47, and later took gold at the FISU World University Games in the same discipline. He placed ahead of Victor Bettendorf (156 points), who competes in equestrian show jumping.

Chronicle.lu spoke with both newly crowned Athletes of the Year following the ceremony. Patrizia Van der Weken said she did not take victory for granted: “I wouldn’t say I expected it, but it was possible. I had a very good indoor season… I’m very happy to be here for the third time winning this trophy.” Looking ahead to 2026, she added: “I want to do as many international podiums as possible… I know there are a lot of crazy talented girls, but I shouldn’t underestimate myself either. European outdoors is a big goal, I was fourth last year, and I don’t want to be fourth again.”

Ruben Querinjean also admitted he was surprised by the result: “No, no, I didn’t expect that… When I wasn’t fifth, wasn’t fourth, I thought: oh, maybe it’s me.” Reflecting on the upcoming season, he noted: “Next season we have the European Championships. At the moment I’m fourth in Europe with my PB, so maybe top five or podium. And for the Olympics in Los Angeles - top five would be amazing, but there’s still a long way to go.”

In the Coach of the Year category, Patrizia Van der Weken’s coach Arnaud Starck claimed the award with 390 points, finishing ahead of Daniel Santos, Head Coach of Luxembourg’s women’s national football team, who received 319 points.

Dan Santos’ team was voted Best Team of the Year with 397 points, ahead of the women’s basketball national team (350 points). In 2025, the team achieved promotion to League B of the UEFA Women’s Nations League 2024/25 after topping their League C group with sixteen points from five wins and one draw.

The Young Female and Male Hope Prizes went to 18-year-old archer Lea Tonus and 16-year-old footballer Enzo Duarte. Tonus secured the overall U21 Indoor World Series title and recorded further wins in Strasbourg and Nîmes, as well as a silver medal in Las Vegas, before reaching the round of 16 at the U-21 World Championships. Duarte, part of Borussia Dortmund’s U19 squad, marked a standout year by making his senior debut for Luxembourg.

The Sport and Disability Prize was awarded to Liz Conzemius for her achievements in blind tennis, while the Ultra Sport Prize went to ultra-trail athlete Jemp Moura. The Fair Play Prize was presented to Luka Mladenovic, also recognised for his involvement in blind tennis.

The sportspress.lu Honorary Prize was awarded to Marie-Paule Lahure, the wife of Petz Lahure, the former President of sportspress.lu who passed away earlier this year. Lahure led the association for 27 years and covered fifteen Olympic Games during his career. The award was presented by Gianni Merlo, President of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), who described Lahure as “a serious, passionate and honest journalist” and noted that “what he wrote was never banal, because he studied human beings, athletes and the environment around them.” He added that Petz Lahure “observed everything attentively and would then look you straight in the eyes with the shadow of a smile… always profoundly human.”