The 28-year-old, who won his first Olympic gold at Rio 2016 having earned bronze in Beijing and silver at London 2012, saw off competition from beach volleyball duo Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst and canoeist Sebastian Brendel.

Hambüchen received 46.4 per cent of the votes among the 3,800 athletes who are sponsored by the German Sports Aid Foundation to land the prize, which is supported by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) Athletes’ Commission.

Ludwig and Walkenhorst, who stunned Brazilian pair Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas to win the Olympic gold medal on the iconic Copacabana Beach at Rio 2016, were given 31.2 per cent.

The German team were able to silence the raucous home crowd at the temporary venue, powering to a 21-18, 21-14 success.

Brendel was also in superb form at the Games, which came to a conclusion with the Closing Ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium on August 21, as he clinched two gold medals.

The 28-year-old successfully defended his Olympic C1 1,000m title and then partnered Jan Vandrey to the C2 crown over the same distance.

His achievements, which came amid difficult circumstances following the death of canoe sprint coach Stefan Henze in a car crash in the Brazilian city, led to him earning 22.4 per cent of the vote.

Brendel was Germany’s Flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony.

High bar specialist Hambüchen’s triumph at the Games in Rio saw him end a long wait for an Olympic gold medal.

The German produced his best display when it mattered, scoring 15.766 to take the title ahead of American Danell Leyva and Britain’s Nile Wilson, silver and bronze medallists respectively.

Hambüchen was a world champion on the apparatus in 2007 and won high bar gold at the inaugural European Games in Baku last year.