Sportspersons
- Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879), chess grandmaster
- Rudi Ball (1911–75), ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934
- Michael Ballack (born 1976), football player
- Karin Balzer (born 1938), hurdler
- Dieter Baumann (born 1965), athlete
- Franz Beckenbauer (born 1945), football player
- Boris Becker (born 1967), tennis player
- Elly Beinhorn (born 1907), aviatrix
- Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), race car driver
- Frank Biela (born 1964), race car driver
- Oliver Bierhoff (born 1968), football player
- Heike Drechsler (born 1964), athlete
- Timo Boll, table tennis player
- Paul Breitner (born 1951), football player
- Kai Budde (born 1979), professional Magic: The Gathering player
- Bettina Bunge (born 1963), tennis player
- Rudolf Caracciola (1901–1959), race car driver
- Ursula "Uschi" Disl (born 1970), biathlete
- Christian Ehrhoff, German Olympian and NHL hockey player currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres.
- Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (1913–1997) leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition
- Harald Ertl (1948–1982), race car driver
- Jürgen Fanghänel (born 1951), boxer
- Rudi Fink (born 1958), boxer
- Birgit Fischer (born 1962), kayaker
- Sven Fischer (born 1971), biathlete
- Alfred Flatow (1869–1942), gymnast, 3-time Olympic champion (parallel bars, team parallel bars, team horizontal bar), silver (horizontal bar)
- Gustav Felix Flatow (1875–1945), 2-time Olympic champion (team parallel bars, team horizontal bar)
- Torsten Frings (born 1976), football player
- Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972)), football player
- Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player currently playing for the Nashville Predators.
- Steffi Graf (born 1969), tennis player
- Michael Greis (born 1976), biathlete
- Michael Groß (born 1964), swimmer
- Ricco Groß (born 1970), biathlete
- Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), founder of the Paralympics
- Georg Hackl (born 1966), luger
- Sven Hannawald (born 1974), ski jumper
- Armin Hary (born 1937), athlete
- Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), racing driver
- Lilli Henoch (1899–1942), world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay
- Peter Hussing (born 1948), boxer
- Robert Hübner (born 1948), chess grandmaster
- Reinhold Joest (born 1937), race car driver and racing team owner
- Klaus Junge (1924–1945), one of the youngest German chess grandmasters
- Oliver Kahn (born 1969), football player
- Andy Kapp (born 1967), curler
- Herbert Klein (1923–2001), Olympic bronze (200-m breaststroke); 3 world records
- Ralph Klein (1931–2008), Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach
- Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver
- Jürgen Klinsmann (born 1964), football player and coach
- Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player
- Georg Koch (born 1972), football player
- Andreas Köpke (born 1962), football player (goalkeeper)
- Olaf Kölzig (born 1970), German Olympian and NHL goalie currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning
- Louis Krages (1949–2001), racing driver who raced under the pseudonym of "John Winter"
- Philipp Lahm (born 1983), football player
- André Lange, Bobsledding champion
- Hermann Lang (1909–1987), Champion race car driver
- Bernhard Langer (born 1957), golfer
- Henry Laskau, racewalker, won 42 national titles; Pan American Games champion; 4-time Maccabiah champion
- Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941), the second World Chess Champion (1894–1921)
- Jens Lehmann (born 1969), football player (goalkeeper)
- Ellen Lohr, racing driver
- Klaus Ludwig, racing driver
- Marion Lüttge (born 1941), javelin thrower
- Sepp Maier (born 1944), football player
- Henry Maske (born 1964), boxer
- Jochen Mass, racing driver
- Lothar Matthäus (born 1961), football player
- Helene Mayer (1910–1953), foil fencer, Olympic champion
- Georg Meier (1910–1999) Motor-Cycle Racer
- Christoph Metzelder (born 1980), football player
- Ulrike Meyfarth (born 1956), high jumper
- Rosi Mittermaier (born 1950), alpine ski champion
- Gerd Müller (born 1945), football player
- Jörg Müller, race car driver
- Petra Müller (born 1965), athlete
- Patricia Neske (born 1966), figure skater
- Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (born 1966), speed skater
- Dirk Nowitzki (born 1978), NBA star
- Aron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935) Latvian-Danish German chess master and chess writer
- Sylke Otto (born 1969), luger
- Claudia Pechstein (born 1972), speed skater
- Uta Pippig (born 1965), athlete
- Sarah Poewe (born 1983), swimmer, Olympic bronze (4x100 medley relay)
- Daniel Prenn (1904–1991), tennis player, highest world ranking # 6
- Birgit Prinz (born 1977), football player
- Lina Radke (1903–1983), athlete
- Teodor Regedziński (aka Theodor Reger) (1894–1954) Polish chess master of German origin, fathers name was Reger
- Annegret Richter (born 1950), athlete
- Lars Riedel (born 1967), athlete
- Walter Röhrl, rally and racing driver (2-times Rally World Champion)
- Bernd Rosemeyer (1909–1938), racing driver
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, football player
- Max Schmeling (1905–2005), World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
- Martin Schmitt (born 1978), ski jumper
- Paul Felix Schmidt (1916–1984), Estonian–German chess master.
- Bernd Schneider, racing driver
- Bernd Schneider,football player
- Detlef Schrempf (born 1963), former NBA star
- Rainer Schüttler, tennis player
- Michael Schumacher (born 1969), racing driver (7-times Formula One World Champion)
- Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver, brother of Michael
- Harald Schumacher (born 1954), football player
- Ralf Schumann (born 1962), pistol shooter
- Bastian Schweinsteiger (born 1984),football player
- Uwe Seeler (born 1936),football player
- Werner Seelenbinder (1904–1944), wrestler
- Katja Seizinger, alpine ski champion
- Renate Stecher (born 1950), athlete
- Michael Stich (born 1968), tennis player
- Rolf Stommelen (died 1983), racing driver
- Hans Stuck (died 1978), racing driver
- Hans Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans
- Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934), chess grandmaster
- Axel Teichmann (born 1979), cross-country skier
- Richard Teichmann (1868–1925), leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength
- Toni Turek (1919–1984), football player
- Jan Ullrich (born 1973), cyclist
- Wolfgang Unzicker (1925–2006), chess grandmaster
- Franziska van Almsick (born 1978), swimmer
- Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver (2-time World Champion)
- Berti Vogts, football player and coach
- Rudi Völler (born 1960), football player
- Sebastian Vollmer (born 1984), American football player, first German NFL Draft pick, currently playing for the New England Patriots
- Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer
- Fritz Walter (1920–2002), football player
- Fritz Walter (born 1960), football player
- Jens Weißflog (born 1964), ski jumper
- Kati Wilhelm (born 1976), biathlete
- Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver
- Manfred Winkelhock (1951–1985), racing driver, brother of Joachim
- Katarina Witt (born 1965), figure skater
- Sigrun Wodars (born 1965), athlete
- Jenny Wolf (born 1979), speed skater
- Erik Zabel (born 1970), cyclist
- Johannes Hermann Zukertort (1842–1888), German Polish-Jewish chessmaster
Read more about this topic: List Of Germans