athletics
Geher Hilbert and Linke criticize the lack of recognition
Jonathan Hilbert finishes second at the Olympics and celebrates silver. Photo: Shuji Kajiyama/AP/dpa/archive image
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The German walkers complain about the lack of recognition of their successes and the importance of their discipline in athletics.
The German walkers complain about the lack of recognition of their successes and the importance of their discipline in athletics.
“Walking continues to be neglected, although we have sweetened the DLV’s Olympic record a bit,” said Jonathan Hilbert, who came second in the Olympics. The 27-year-old from LG Ohra Energie won silver over 50 kilometers at the Tokyo Games last year, one of only three medals for the German Athletics Association.
Hilbert had to cancel the start at the World Championships from Friday to July 24th in Eugene, USA, at short notice due to a corona infection and hopes to be fit again by the time of the European Championships at home from August 15th to 21st in Munich.
Geher colleague Christopher Linke joins the criticism of the offside of his sport discipline despite the recent successes. “In Germany we don’t notice anything, it didn’t do anything,” said the World Cup fourth in 2019. The Potsdamer starts at the start of the World Cup on Saturday night (12:10 a.m. CEST/sportschau.de and ARD) as a medal contender over 20 Kilometre.
The walkers would have to continue to beg for support and money for training camps, Hilbert criticized: “It’s a very difficult situation that I imagined differently.” The DLV CEO Idriss Gonschinska does not want to accept the criticism of insufficient funding. “We finance the national coaches. The training camps and high-altitude training camps are very complex,” he explained. “One is what is realized, the other what is perceived.”