The Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award () is an annual

sports award Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

in recognition of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

competitors in the

sport of athletics Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, cross-country running, and racewalking. ...

who, in performance and attitude, have been role models for young people. The award was created in 1950, named after German

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

Rudolf Harbig Rudolf Waldemar Harbig (8 November 1913 – 5 March 1944) was a German athlete. As a middle distance runner he was best known for the 800 metres world record that he set in Milan in 1939. He also held the European record in the 400 metres from ...

, who died age 30 fighting for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The award was suggested by the ''Clubs der Alten Meister'' (Old Masters Club), a union of former athletes and made official by

Karl Ritter von Halt Karl Ritter von Halt, born Karl Ferdinand Halt (2 June 1891 – 5 August 1964) was a sport official in Nazi Germany and the German Federal Republic. He was born and died in Munich. Biography Karl Ritter von Halt was a track and field athle ...

, the former leader of the

National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

. Given by the

German Athletics Association The German Athletics Association ( German: ''Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband''; DLV) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Germany. Since 2010, Germany's kits are supplied by Nike. See also * German Athletics Championships * Ea ...

(DLV), the award was for

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

athletes only prior to

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

.Rudolf-Harbig-Preis an Frank Busemann
Leichtathletik (2004-07-10). Retrieved 2019-07-22. The prize may only be awarded once to an athlete, who is selected by an internal German Athletics Association panel. The DLV president gives the award at the

German Athletics Championships The German Athletics Championships () are the national championships in athletics of Germany, organised annually by the Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband. The competition features track and field events. Separate championships are held for non-tra ...

each year, a tradition started at the championships in 1950. The award was historically mostly been given to men (37 male to 13 female winners in its first 50 years) – prior to 2005, a female winner had succeeded another woman on one occasion only. Men and women have received the honour in roughly equal frequency since 1999.

Winners

References

;List of winners
Rudolf-Harbig-Gedächtnispreis
Leichtathletik. Retrieved 2019-07-22.

External links

Official German Athletics Association website
{{Athletics awards Sport of athletics awards German sports trophies and awards Most valuable player awards Awards established in 1950 1950 establishments in West Germany