Dhe appeal given to young team athletes in the United States may be linguistically correct. It reads: “There is no I in team.” But often enough there is a lack of literal translation into everyday life. Because as a reflection of an extreme elbow society, American sport is one thing above all else: a reservoir full of ambitious individualists. They don’t just leave their ego behind in the changing room and afterwards at best whitewash their pronounced sense of personal advancement with modest-sounding lip service.
Read F + 30 days for free now and get access to all articles on FAZ.NET.
READ F + NOW
Which is why the behavior of 33-year-old Brittany Bowe made a lot of headlines over the weekend. She had dominated the 500, 1000 and 1500 meters in the speed skating qualifying competitions in Milwaukee and thus secured participation in the Beijing Olympic Games over all three distances. But towards the end of the event she gave up the starting place over the short distance.
The reason: She wanted her teammate Erin Jackson, a 500 meter specialist, to follow suit, who was briefly unbalanced during her race on Friday during the lane change and due to the loss of time to third place behind Bowe and second Kimi Goetz had landed.
However, there is more than an old-fashioned sportsmanship behind the noble gesture. It is a smart calculation. Jackson, who was the first African-American speed skater in the United States to compete in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang four years ago, has made tremendous progress and is consistently the fastest woman sprinter in the world this season. She not only demonstrated this with four wins in eight World Cup races and underlined her form four weeks ago in Salt Lake City with a new American record of 36.80 seconds.
For the four-year-old Bowe, who wanted to concentrate on the two longer distances this winter anyway, such a time is beyond possible. It is therefore “the only right thing”, she explained in an interview with the NBC television station, her decision, which is an unspoken criticism of the strict qualification mode for American athletes.
“Erin has more than earned the right to a place on the team. She is the best in the world over 500 meters. ”Jackson’s request for a second attempt was rejected by the association because the rules only provide for such a thing in the event of a fall or a technical problem with the skates.
Prospect of prize money
Bowe and Jackson live in Ocala, Florida, where they first developed into successful inline skaters under the guidance of their trainer Renee Hildebrand, one of the best in their field, before switching to the ice. Jackson also made a name for himself in the “flat-track” version of the roller derby team sport.
She was “incredibly grateful” to Bowe, she said after the association gave the maneuver its place. “It’s just crazy that she should do this for me. I always looked up to her and knew what an incredible person she was. ”Bowe believes that the friendship is not a one-way street:“ I have no doubt that she would do the same the other way around. ”
For Jackson, the trip to China also entails the prospect of prize money. The American National Olympic Committee pays out prizes equivalent to 33,000 euros for a gold medal, 20,000 euros for silver and 13,000 euros for bronze. Amounts that Bowe, who became world champion over 1000 meters for the third time in Heerenveen in February and improved the world record to 1: 14.128 minutes, only speculated on her regular routes anyway.
And on adding two more to the only Olympic medal so far – bronze in the team pursuit. It has the necessary shape. Bowe is clearly in first place in the World Cup ranking over 1000 meters and only a few points behind the Japanese Ayano Sato in second over 1500 meters. Jackson leads over 500 meters in front of the Russian Angelina Golikowa.
.
