Athletics Heike Drechsler
“We can’t look at the medal table, that’s hard”
Status: 10:26 am | Reading time: 3 minutes
Von Thorsten Felske, Steven Jörgensen
Looking the other way: Javelin thrower Julian Weber did not win a medal for the German athletics team either
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
Germany historically did poorly at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and did not win a medal. For the former long jumper and Olympic champion Heike Drechsler, the problems in the association are homemade.
46 countries won medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Germany was not one of them. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, they remained without a medal – a low point! As early as 2022, Germany had only won precious metal twice. One year before the Olympic Games in Paris there is alarm in German athletics!
Olympic champion Heike Drechsler (58): “We’re not allowed to look at the medal table, that’s really hard. That makes me sad. But on the other hand I also say: The athletes who were here gave their best, more was not possible.”
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Top performers such as long jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo (29/torn muscle) and steeplechase runner Gesa Krause (31/baby break) failed. Injuries weakened the 4×100 meter relay around Gina Lückenkemper (26), who won bronze in 2022 – now in sixth place.
The overall level of the team dropped: There were 13 top 8 placements, only five of which were among the top 5. “We don’t have much breadth below,” says Drechsler. “Those who were at the World Cup made it, but there are not enough of them who make it to the top. You also have to ask yourself the question: How can you make more money available so that you have good coaches in the youth field as well?”
Heike Drechsler won the Olympic gold in the long jump in 1992 and 2000
Source: dpa/Thomas Niedermüller
There are regular medals for the juniors (U20 World Cup 2022: one gold, four silver, three bronze), but the leap to the adults rarely succeeds at world-class level. Drechsler demands that talented people be offered better perspectives so that they “stay on the ball”. Germany must pull together its track and field athletes more, such as the Dutch. “We have to try to create centers that make it worthwhile for young athletes to put their strength and energy into them,” says Drechsler. “You have to do it twice, and sport has to run parallel to your studies, for example.”
Drechsler has hope for the Olympic Games
Drechsler still has hope for the 2024 Olympics in Paris: “Something is coming. Our athletes also achieved a lot of personal bests. This makes them even more motivated. If you add the athletes who have dropped out, the prospects aren’t so bad anymore.”
With Mihambo, Krause, runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen (26) and javelin thrower Johannes Vetter (30), all of whom were absent from the World Championships, there are potential medal candidates who are in top form. Decathlete Leo Neugebauer (23) still has a lot of potential after fifth place in the World Cup.
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One problem: The sporting leadership around head national coach Annett Stein (57) talked a lot at the World Cup, emphasizing that they were “very satisfied” and that the mood was “positive”. That didn’t match the end result.
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The article was written for the sports competence center (WELT, SPORT BILD, BILD) and first published in SPORT BILD.
