Vettel beaten to German sports award

Sebastian Vettel

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel has been beaten to the sportsman of the year title in Germany's "Sportlern des Jahres 2009" awards.

In front of 750 guests during the gala in Baden-Baden, the 22-year-old Red Bull driver – who finished the drivers' championship 11 points behind Jenson Button – lost out to swimmer Paul Biedermann.

At this year's world championships, 23-year-old Biedermann beat Ian Thorpe's 2002 world record for the 400m freestyle that had stood since 2002.

He also set a new world record for the 200m event.

Biedermann's 2009 feats attracted 3,569 votes, compared with Vettel's 2,034. German discus thrower Robert Harting placed third, 597 votes behind Vettel.