Recktenwald, Topf, 2025 para-athlete U23 wheelchair basketball player

An athlete and a team player have several things in common: They became world champions this year. They were all born in this millennium. They look back on the most successful year of their sporting careers. And: The audience was so enthusiastic about them that they were voted Germany’s best para-athletes of the year.

For women, the winner is named Johanna Recktenwald. Born in Saarland, the 24-year-old biathlete and cross-country skier has been training at the Olympic base in Freiburg since graduating from high school four years ago.

He will soon be aiming for medals not only in winter but also in summer: he wants to reach the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles in tandem.

Previously, the Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina were the highlight of his career so far. And this time he was the favorite. In recent years, Recktenwald has improved rapidly in both cross-country skiing and shooting – culminating in becoming world champion at the competition in Pokljuka.

Recktenwald, only has about two percent remaining vision due to cone-rod dystrophy. It represents a young, charismatic and increasingly successful generation of German para-athletes. Just like its male counterpart:

Josiah Pot born 22 years ago in Erlangen, with no arms and stiff legs. At the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, he impressed with thoughtful statements about the Paralympic classification system and its lack of accessibility in Germany.

Topf is now in his fifth semester of legal studies – also because he wants to deal with this issue someday. With talk show appearances like Markus Lanz, he has attracted a lot of attention in this direction since his dramatic victory at the Paralympics in Paris in 2024.

At the World Championships in Singapore he won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Bright prospects for the 2028 Paralympics.

There, in Los Angeles, the Para Team of the Year players wanted to be there, too. That National U23 wheelchair basketball team achieved something historic at the World Cup in Brazil: the German team was the first European team to win this title for the second time.

The first success came in 2012 – 13 years later there was a dramatic final: Germany trailed in the final against Turkey until moments before the end, but then turned the game around with composure and class.

They are all young athletes who have achieved extraordinary victories – and, with their talent, become ambassadors of the Paralympic idea beyond arenas and sports halls.