After World Cup fiasco
Roaring EM festival: “German athletics is alive”
European decathlon champion Niklas Kaul celebrates in Munich. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
After the World Cup fiasco, the German track and field athletes came up trumps at the European Championships in Munich. However, the EM party must not cover up what is going wrong in the association.
The German athletics team’s mission to make amends is in full swing at the home European Championships in Munich. Just three weeks after the World Cup fiasco, the host’s aces have won four golds, three silvers and one bronze after two days of competition.
“It shows that German athletics, which has already been declared dead, is alive. It still exists,” said Niklas Kaul, who was one of the main actors of a golden night with his decathlon feat.
The other main attraction of the intoxicating and dramatic festive evening was Gina Lückenkemper. In a photo-finish final, she won European Championship gold over 100 meters. Verena Sailer was last able to do this twelve years ago. Discus throwers Kristin Pudenz and Claudine Vita, who also contributed silver and bronze, watched from close by.
“It’s definitely nice for the whole team that we’ve been so successful so far. It shows that we can still do competitive sports,” said Pudenz, who placed second at the Olympics, and couldn’t cope with the pressure to succeed at the World Championships. In Munich she now felt so pushed by the home crowd that “ten percent more performance” came out of it. At the World Championships in the USA, only long jumper Malaika Mihambo (gold) and the women’s sprint relay (bronze) were able to win medals.
Draw conclusions from World Cup bankruptcy
“At the European Championships you notice that German athletics is not dead,” said Olympic champion and world champion Mihambo, but added: “But maybe she needs a little more to get to the top of the world.” Kaul also believes it is necessary to draw conclusions from the World Cup bankruptcy and make changes. “I think there are issues that aren’t going well and they should be addressed,” he said. “But I also said in Eugene that the emotional high point for German athletes is in Munich.”
His decathlon in the Olympic Stadium wasn’t perfect, but it was as exciting as a thriller. Inwardly, the 24-year-old from Mainz had already written off the European Championship title after a moderate discus throw and pole vault. And even after the strong javelin throw at 76.05 meters, gold was far away: he had to be 27 seconds faster than the leading Swiss Simon Ehammer in the 1500 meter run to win gold.
“There was a concept, but it didn’t work. The audience carried me,” said Kaul about his triumphant run. After the world title in 2019, it is his second career highlight. The first title was a surprise, but gold at the home World Cup was the “emotionally more important title” for him.
DLV President: “Magnificent hour of athletics”
For the German association president Jürgen Kessing it was a “great moment in athletics” – further successes are possible until Sunday. “There are still a few contenders for a medal,” he said. These include above all Mihambo on Thursday and Carolin Schäfer (heptathlon), Julian Weber (javelin), Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (pole vault) or the sprint relays for women and men.
Despite the great success that is emerging for German athletics in Munich, an analysis of the causes of the World Cup debacle has already begun. “We will not rush into operational hectic, but will tackle it with all the necessary calm, composure and speed,” explained Kessing. A strong EM record can be the breeding ground for this. “Every medal helps and gives courage and confidence for the future,” said Kessing.