Speed ​​skating: Pechstein for the eighth time at the Olympics

Speed ​​skater Claudia Pechstein has met the norm for the Olympic Winter Games. The 49-year-old would take part in the winter games for the eighth time – more often than any woman before her.

The five-time gold medal winner finished eleventh in the mass start finals of the World Cup in Calgary, Canada on Sunday (December 12th, 2021). With this, eight weeks before the Games in Beijing (February 4 to 20), she managed to meet the national and international requirements.

“Highlight of my athletic career”

The 49-year-old had struggled across the world’s ice rinks for almost four years in order to fulfill her dream of participating in the Olympics again. “This is the absolute highlight of my sporting career,” said Pechstein, “when it was clear that I could take part in the Olympics for the eighth time, I could have hugged the whole world.”

She was the first woman in the world to qualify for the eighth time for the Winter Games; this mark had only been achieved by the Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai so far. Pechstein is adding another chapter to her long, successful career as a nearly fifty-year-old. In 1992 she was on Olympic ice for the first time in Albertville. She won gold five times, and in total she collected nine Olympic medals. The 2010 Games in Vancouver, which she missed because of her controversial suspension due to high blood values, remain a shadow on her Olympic career. More precious metal in Beijing is illusory – and neither is the Berlin woman’s claim

The project seemed to have failed

In the semifinals, Pechstein’s Olympic project seemed to have failed, she finished eleventh and thus actually passed the final. Before the last sprint classification, however, Pechstein had been pushed off the track, so national coach Helge Jasch successfully protested against the nudge from the Swiss Nadja Wenger. The video evidence gave Jasch right. Wenger was disqualified and the field of finalists increased from 16 to 18.

“That was of course an extreme strain on Claudia ‘s nerves,” said Jasch, “it is admirable how she dealt with it and then got the Olympic ticket in the final.” The pressure was “enormous,” said Pechstein, “now I’m just overjoyed that I made it. For me, this is the perfect culmination of my career.”

The norm of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) provides for two placements in the top 15 for each discipline, with two eleventh places last weekend in Salt Lake City and now in Calgary. For the international standard, a place in the top 24 of the World Cup ranking is mandatory, Pechstein finished 17th.

Norm also for clocks and fragrances

In Calgary, Michelle Uhrig from Berlin confirmed her Olympic standard from the previous week as eighth. Joel Dufter (Inzell) managed over 1,000 m as 15th in the A group, the norm for the Olympics. In 1: 08.08 minutes, the third place in the European Championship met the DOSB’s nomination criteria in the last international qualifying race. Patrick Beckert (Erfurt) and Felix Rijhnen (Darmstadt) had already succeeded in this.

Source: sportschau.de