athletics
DLV for double pack of World Cup and European Championship: “A great opportunity”
DLV General Director Idriss Gonschinska, General Director, is optimistic about the “summer of athletics”. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
First the German Championships, three weeks later the World Championships, then the European Championships in Munich: it’s a stressful summer for the German track and field team, but it’s an opportunity for the CEO.
The German Athletics Association sees the short succession of world and European championships as a challenge and advertisement.
“This is the summer of athletics. This is a great opportunity for the perception and visibility of a sport,” said CEO Idriss Gonschinska of the German Press Agency. At the same time, it is a very challenging situation to realize a World Cup with a time difference of nine hours only three weeks after the German championships in Berlin and shortly afterwards the European Championships.
The world title fights in Eugene/USA start on Friday and last until July 24th. The European Championships at home will start in Munich on August 15th. The short gap between the World Cup and the European Championship is due to the postponement of the Olympic Games from 2020 to 2021 due to the corona pandemic. That’s why the World Cup was postponed by one year to 2022.
«Opportunity and a challenge»
For an athlete who would manage the situation well and be robust, Gonschinska believes it is an opportunity to stage himself twice. “Perhaps a certain serenity is also part of it. It’s an opportunity and a challenge, but I would always put the opportunity first,” he said.
He does not expect that some athletes might not be fully focused on the World Championships because the European Championships are emotionally more attractive in front of a home crowd. “If you’re in shape and start, you don’t really worry about what will happen three weeks later,” said Gonschinska. «Focusing on what is right now. So be mindful of the current competition day, go for it and work on regeneration. That’s the recommendation to the team.”
The CEO understands the anticipation of the DLV activists for the Munich home games: “The EM 2018 in Berlin was an athletics party that everyone would like to experience again. Of course, the athletes are very keen to experience it again.”