German Nordic Combined athlete Johannes Rydzek has been voted as athlete of the year by sports media in the country ©Getty Images

German Nordic Combined athlete Johannes Rydzek has been voted as male athlete of the year by sports media in the country.

The prestigious individual prize has been awarded since 1949 with Rydzek honoured after winning four gold medals at the 2017 International Ski Federation Nordic World Championships in Lahti in Finland.

Rydzek won both solo Nordic Combined world titles on the large and normal hills, before teaming up with German colleagues to win team and team sprint golds.

The 26-year-old is now a six-time world champion in all.

He becomes the fourth from his sport to win the media prize, after Georg Thoma in 1960, Franz Keller in 1968 and Ronny Ackermann in 2005.

Johannes Rydzek with his four World Championship gold medals ©Getty Images
Johannes Rydzek with his four World Championship gold medals ©Getty Images

In all he received 1,782 votes, beating Ironman athlete Patrick Lange who managed 1,323 and javelin world champion Johannes Vetter who gained 1,093.

Biathlon's Laura Dahlmeier won the women's prize after five world titles in 2017 and the overall World Cup crown.

Rydzek was presented with his trophy from fellow Nordic Combined athlete Samuel Costa during a television ceremony in Baden-Baden. 

Despite his World Championships success in 2017, he only finished second in the World Cup standings behind his compatriot Eric Frenzel.