The annual Nemzeti Sport Athlete of the Year gala was held at the State Opera House in Budapest, Hungary on Monday, 12 January. 2025 was not as eventful a year in sports as the previous one, 2024, with the Summer Olympics in Paris and the UEFA European Championship held in Germany with Hungary taking part. However, there were still quite a few moments to celebrate for Hungarian sports fans.
Luana Márton was chosen for the Female Athlete of the Year award. The 19-year-old taekwondo practitioner won the gold medal in the women’s welterweight division (140–147 pounds, 63.5–66.7 kilogrammes) at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China. This was her second world championship gold after having won one in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2023 as well, in the 125-pound (57 kg) division then.
Interestingly, her twin sister Viviana is also a professional martial artist. She won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the women’s taekwondo competition. She delivered a silver medal for her country at the World Championship in Wuxi this year; and she too was in the running for the Best Female Athlete category, but it eventually went to her sister Launa.
‘It feels really great to stand before you at home, in Hungary, among extraordinary athletes. I am very proud to be among the top three [female athletes nominated], along with my sister and my coach [who was nominated in the Trainer of the Year category]…My parents are the most important people in my life. Evidently, I want to thank them too, since they have always stood by me. I could not have done it without them,’ Luana Márton told the illustrious audience after receiving the award, as quoted by the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport, the namesake sponsor of the event.
Among the men of the evening, it was swimmer Hubert Kós’s performance that was deemed the best in the year of 2025.
He defended his title, having also won in the category in 2024, when he won the gold medal in the 200-metre men’s backstroke event at the Paris Olympics. This year, he won another gold in the same event, at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. He beat out Liverpool football star Dominik Szoboszlai for his repeat award.
Since he is training in the United States, alas, he could not make it to the gala in person. He did make a live comment via online connection after his mother received his award on his behalf. Through a live video feed, he said: ‘It is incredible to be chosen Male Athlete of the Year again. I could not even believe it when I won last year, and I still cannot believe it this year…I would not like to stop, I’ll keep going and keep working. I want to keep working not just for my own sake, but for all Hungarians. I want to give them joy and precious moments like the old greats gave to me.’
The Ferencváros men's water polo team was chosen the best in the Team of the Year category. FTC-Telekom completed the treble last year, having won the Hungarian Championship, the Hungarian Cup, and—the biggest accolade of them all—the European Aquatics Champions League as well.
The gala featured distinguished international guests in attendance. Olympic gold medallist and former world record-holding Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, former Algerian footballer Rabah Madjer, known for his backheel goal for FC Porto in the 1987 European Cup final, and former Belgium and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff were all at the Budapest Opera House for the event. So were Tibor Kapu, who became the second Hungarian to be launched into outer space last year, and President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok of Hungary.
The awards were decided by a vote by the Hungarian Sports Journalists’ Association (MSÚSZ).
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