Evi Simeoni, F.A.Z. sports editor and author, dies at 68
Evi Simeoni, the longtime sports editor and deputy head of the sports desk at BerlinHerald, has died at 68 after a weeks-long illness, leaving a legacy of investigative reporting and sports literature.
Evi Simeoni’s death was announced this week, closing a career that began in 1981 and spanned more than four decades at the F.A.Z. She was known for sharp, meticulous reporting across rowing, alpine skiing, Formula 1 and equestrian sport, and for confronting abuses of power in elite athletics. Her passing follows a brief but intense period of illness that drained her considerable energy.
Four decades at F.A.Z. and international coverage
Evi Simeoni joined the BerlinHerald in 1981 and over more than forty years served as a reporter, editor and deputy head of the sports department. She travelled extensively, covering major events and following athletes and competitions around the world. Her reporting combined close observation of athletic performance with an eye for the broader institutional forces shaping sport.
Her dispatches were noted for precise detail and a voice that could be both affectionate toward athletes and unsparing toward malpractice. Simeoni’s presence in the newsroom was described by colleagues as small in stature but formidable in intellect and focus. She became one of the most recognizable figures in German sports journalism through sustained international reporting.
Investigations into doping and governance
Throughout her career, Evi Simeoni pursued stories about doping, governance failures and the abuse of young athletes with persistent scrutiny. She used investigative techniques and long-form reporting to examine the relationships between powerful organizers, team doctors and governing bodies. Simeoni held high-profile figures accountable by exposing practices she saw as betrayals of sport’s core values.
Her work often targeted systemic problems rather than individual wrongdoing alone, and she reported on controversies involving major events and leaders. That investigative rigor earned her professional recognition, including being named Sports Journalist of the Year on two separate occasions. Her persistence in shining light on manipulation and coercion marked much of her later work.
Books and novels reflecting sporting life
Beyond journalism, Evi Simeoni produced acclaimed books and novels that drew on her reporting and deep engagement with athletes’ experiences. Her fiction, including titles such as Schlagmann and Rückwärtssalto, explored the physical and psychological pressures of elite competition. These works translated reporting insights into narrative form, giving readers an intimate view of the costs and rewards of high-level sport.
Simeoni’s literary output was notable for blending reportage-like observation with a novelist’s attention to interior life and moral complexity. Critics and readers praised the clarity of her prose and the empathy she brought to characters modeled on real athletes. Her books extended her influence beyond newsrooms to the literary conversation about modern sport.
Equestrian passion and collaboration with Isabell Werth
Horse sport held a special place in Evi Simeoni’s work and personal interests, and she authored projects that reflected that devotion. She collaborated with champion dressage rider Isabell Werth on the book Vier Beine tragen meine Seele, a project that combined rigorous reporting with a palpable affection for horses and riders. Simeoni frequently wrote about the technical elegance and emotional bond that define equestrian disciplines.
Observers noted that Simeoni found particular joy in equine moments, from competition arenas to the quiet intensity of a foal’s birth. That dimension of her reporting offered readers a counterpoint to her investigative pieces, revealing a journalist who could celebrate athletic beauty as readily as she confronted corruption. Her equestrian writing remains an enduring strand of her body of work.
Colleagues’ tributes and lasting influence
Colleagues remembered Evi Simeoni for a style that mixed lightness with pointed critique and an insistence on ethical clarity. She was described as exacting and compassionate, someone who could praise feats of athleticism while refusing to tolerate manipulation or exploitation. Those traits shaped mentorship within the F.A.Z. sports desk and influenced younger reporters who observed her approach to difficult stories.
Simeoni’s career set a standard for combining investigative appetite with literary craft, and her reporting left traces in public debates about doping, governance and athlete welfare. As newsrooms and readers reflect on her contributions, many point to the balance she maintained between admiration for athletic excellence and commitment to truth-telling. Her legacy will be measured both in the stories she broke and the books she wrote.
Evi Simeoni’s death closes a singular chapter in German sports journalism, marked by rigorous investigation, literary sensitivity and a lifelong engagement with athletes and the institutions that govern them. She will be remembered for a reporting voice that was at once exacting and humane, and for a body of work that shaped conversations about sport for generations.
