Olympic Games: German sport in an Olympic low

Thomas Weikert raved full of euphoria – but not about the German team’s achievements at the Olympics. »Paris kept its promise. The enthusiasm that prevailed here: it was great sport,” said the association president in the German House, for which the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) had happily rented a small stadium near the Roland Garros tennis facility.

Great sport – the German team didn’t offer it as often as expected in the last 16 days. The German medal winners were celebrated almost every evening in an impressive ambience and a relaxed atmosphere. But Team Germany’s overall record is rather mixed. The medalless fencers, marksmen, wrestlers, sailors, the disappointing swimming world champion Florian Wellbrock and the historically weak cycling team became symbols of failure.

“Need for action on many levels”

Once again, significantly less medal glory than three years ago in Tokyo, despite an XXL team, the worst performance since reunification and former star disciplines a total failure: German sport has a lot of work to do on the long road to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles itself.

Jörg Bügner, sports director at the German Athletics Association, summed up the problem aptly in one sentence: “We write Excel tables, the others train – and that can’t be right.” The 37 medals at the Corona Games in Tokyo were a low point in the past decades . This time, after a weak first week, it became difficult even with the minimum target of 30. In the end there were twelve gold, thirteen silver and eight bronze medals. Tenth place in the medal table is the worst result since reunification.

Overworked and underpaid coaches, sports funding under criticism: After Paris, a lot of things in German sport will come under scrutiny. »There is a need for action on many levels. We need more trainers and better pay for trainers. I’ve been trying to promote this for many years. “It’s not quite successful yet,” admitted Weikert on ZDF on Sunday. Sport at school and in kindergarten as well as a lack of money are also problems, the DOSB president added.

“We started these games with a different goal,” stated Olaf Tabor as Chef de Mission with a view to the number of medals. The sub-goal of making it into the top ten nations in the medal table again was achieved. But while the celebrated host France celebrated medals in a row and even the much smaller Dutch team became real competition, a debate has broken out in German sport about the possible consequences and, above all, the causes.

Boll, Kerber and Dauser quit

The medal guarantees in horse riding and canoeing saved the team from even greater evil. In addition, the 3×3 basketball players, the triathlon mixed team, shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye and the handball players delivered memorable Olympic moments. But criticism of German sport is growing – and is not even primarily aimed at the athletes. “Priorities must be set in the promotion of elite sports and, above all, clear and consistent goals must be formulated,” said Frank Ullrich, head of the sports committee in the Bundestag, to “Spiegel”.

The 66-year-old complained that the DOSB had only set “minimal goals” for the Olympic Games. »Personally, I would have liked the DOSB to have a different sense of entitlement. We need the pressure to move forward.” At the end of the Paris Games, the DOSB announced the “perspective goal of fifth place in the summer.” However, how this is to be achieved remains unclear. Tabor at least admitted that the DOSB considers major changes “necessary”.

Upward trend in team sports

After table tennis star Timo Boll, tennis ace Angelique Kerber and gymnastics world champion Lukas Dauser ended their careers, German sport needs new role models. According to experts, a separate bid for the Summer Games would be a path to greater success. A German application for the Summer Games could not be considered until 2036 at the earliest, more likely 2040. The government supports the intention, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was a guest at the Stade Jean-Bouin twice during the Paris days and also spoke to athletes.

»As you know, our plan is to once again focus on the Olympic Games in Germany. In this respect, it is a great inspiration that we are experiencing together here,” said Scholz about the successful games in France, where the athletes around swimmer Leon Marchand and judoka Teddy Riner also shone. They became ambassadors for these games.

There was a notable upward trend in team sports. Numerous German selection teams qualified for Paris. The beach volleyball duo Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler won a medal, as did the women’s soccer players, the men’s hockey players, the 3×3 basketball players and the handball players, who provided one of the highlights of these games in the successful quarter-final thriller against hosts France.

But while only a few medals are awarded to the teams, there are numerous sports with many decisions in which the Germans had absolutely no chance. »We cannot bring about change overnight. It’s a medium-term process, hopefully not a marathon,” said Tabor. There are four years left until the games in Los Angeles.dpa/nd

Olympic medal table

Status after 329 of 329 competitions:

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