Jan Helmich wins Cambridge University’s Sports Person of the Year

The prestigious award recognises the highest-achieving student-athlete at the University of Cambridge. Taking into account sporting performance over the past year, a number of national and international student-athletes were in contention for the award. The shortlist of top performers showed the breadth of sporting achievement and talent at Cambridge.

Jan arrived in Cambridge as a novice rower and an undergraduate student in 2016. He now competes at the highest level all over the world while studying for a PhD with Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. In recent years Jan has been at the top of his game, winning gold at World Rowing Cup II, bronze at World Rowing Cup III, and silver at the 2024 European Rowing Championships. At the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Jan won a bronze medal in the PR3 mixed double sculls with a time of 7:28.31 alongside Team Germany crewmate Hermine Krumbein. In June this year, Jan won another two World Rowing cups in Lucerne and Varese, setting the current official World Record time with 7:05.24 in Varese. Speaking about Jan’s award, the Sports Centre said, “Jan’s journey is a powerful story of resilience, dedication, and balance between academics and elite sport. His success continues to inspire the next generation of rowers at Cambridge and beyond.”