Brother couple
Not spoken for five years: Robert and Christoph Harting explain how the civil war came about
Robert and Christoph Harting 2018 at the athletics meeting in Berlin. At that time it was just enough to let go.
© Christof Stache / DPA
They both won Olympic gold – and were deeply divided: Robert and Christoph Harting have reconciled. In an interview, they explain how the rift came about.
They haven’t spoken to each other for five years, they haven’t even said “hello” to each other: the Olympic champions and brothers Robert and Christoph Harting seemed to be irreconcilably falling out. A situation from which not only the brothers themselves, but also the parents suffered. But this year we had Christmas together for the first time since 2016.
“I invited Christoph to my house, we were together with my wife Julia, our twins, our parents and grandma Renate,” said Robert Harting of “Bild am Sonntag” in a double interview with his brother. “It is a great relief, especially for our parents, to see us together again. They, like all of us, suffered greatly from this situation,” said Christoph Harting.
The reason for the brotherly dispute were different concepts of life and, above all, their different characters. “When Christoph came to Berlin as a discus thrower, he should be like me,” said Robert. Since they were also in a competitive situation in terms of sport, there was no way to resolve the discrepancies. “We didn’t know what the solution was.”
Robert and Christoph Harting speak of “Reset”
A joint TV appearance in March then broke the ice and initiated reconciliation. Both have spoken out and found their way to deal with each other. “Above all, we apologized to each other,” explained Robert Harting. Both brothers now accept that they have different approaches and life plans. “We just set everything to zero, sort of a reset,” said Christoph Harting.
Robert Harting won gold in discus throwing at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 – the 37-year-old’s greatest sporting success. Four years later, in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, he was followed by his brother Christoph. The six years younger Hartung offspring also won gold – completely surprisingly.