athletics
“Fun bets”: German discus throwers banned on probation
The German discus throwers Henrik Janssen and Steven Richter bet on their own teammates at the World Athletics Championships. The two have now been punished – and show remorse.
The German discus throwers and World Cup participants Henrik Janssen and Steven Richter have each been suspended for three months on probation for violating the betting rules of the world athletics association World Athletics. This was announced by the independent Integrity Commission (AIU) of the world association.
According to the information, Janssen and judges had placed bets on teammates for competitions at the World Championships in Tokyo last year. Janssen is said to have placed three bets with a total value of 100 euros. Richter said it was a bet of 40 euros.
“This incident hits us very hard, the two athletes were also devastated. In the euphoria before the World Cup, they said they made thoughtless, fun bets on other disciplines with an online provider,” said the competitive sports board of the German Athletics Association (DLV), Jörg Bügner.
Janssen and Richter show remorse: “Idiot nonsense!”
According to their own statements, Janssen and Richter later regretted the bet. “We watched the competitions in Tokyo together on TV during the precamp and spontaneously placed a few bets on a whim. What idiotic nonsense! We extremely regret these five minutes,” said Janssen, according to a DLV statement.
Richter explained that they had “stupidly not read the athletes’ agreement correctly, that was clearly our mistake” and added: “Our behavior was extremely stupid. We regret this step and only sincerely apologize to the entire team.”
Janssen and Richter allegedly knew nothing about the betting ban
According to the AIU, both admitted the violations and said they did not know that such bets were prohibited. According to relevant information, they did not carry out any further operations. They also tried unsuccessfully to cancel their bets.
“We thought we just shouldn’t bet on our discus competitions. When it became clear that that was wrong, we tried to cancel the bets. But that was no longer possible,” said Richter. The lack of information about betting and the confessions were a mitigating factor in the punishment, the AIU said.
AIU speaks of “zero tolerance policy”
At the World Cup in Tokyo, Richter was eliminated from qualifying, Janssen took twelfth place in the final without a valid attempt. A year earlier, at the Olympic Games in Paris, the 27-year-old failed to qualify.
“World Athletics betting rules are designed to ensure that results in our sport are determined solely by performance. The AIU has a zero-tolerance policy towards breaches of the betting rules as they go to the heart of the integrity of the sport,” said AIU Chief Executive Brett Clothier. The sanctions are a “clear reminder” that there is no place for betting violations in athletics.
Janssen and Richter must now complete an e-learning course from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the prevention of competition manipulation. The DLV also stated that it would “adapt its athlete agreement and raise even greater awareness of this important issue”.
Frenchwoman also sanctioned
In addition to the two German athletes, the French middle-distance runner Aurore Fleury was also sanctioned. She bet 2,000 euros on a teammate at the 2024 European Championships in Rome and won 5,000 euros.
Fleury was punished with a six-month ban retroactive to September 1, 2025 and must pay a sum of 3,000 euros to be donated to charity.
dpa
