A good five months after the Olympic Games in Beijing, speed skater Joel Dufter surprisingly ended his career at the age of only 27 and attacked the national association. Above all, the Inzeller criticizes the separation from his coach Danny Leger.
With a harsh broadside against the German Speed ??Skating Association (DESG), two-time Olympic participant Joel Dufter has announced his retirement. “I did competitive sport for ten years – especially with the association in Germany it was and is difficult. But recently I also lacked the motivation to do so. It was easy for me to say goodbye. Hopefully something will change in the association, speed skating is in Germany not on the right track,” wrote the 27-year-old sprint record holder on the homepage of his club DEC Inzell.
The separation of the association from long-time national sprint coach Danny Leger at the end of 2020 contributed significantly to scenter’s displeasure with the DESG. “I’m really pissed off. A year before the Olympics, one of the coaches is taken away,” scolded the native of Upper Bavaria about the DESG leadership with the controversial President Matthias Große at the helm. As a consequence, at the beginning of 2021, shortly after winning bronze at the European Sprint Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands, Dufter joined the training group of the Norwegian national team led by Canada’s ex-sprint world champion Jeremy Wotherspoon. For this, the sports soldier also gave up his promotion position in the Bundeswehr.
Last year’s third place at the European Championships was Dufter’s greatest success. At world championships, eighth place in the 2020 sprint all-around in Hamar, Norway, was the best result for the younger brother of Olympic speed skater Roxanne Dufter. When he took part in the Winter Games for the second time in Beijing at the beginning of the year, Dufter took 26th place in both the 500m and 1000m immediately after suffering from corona. He has now started an apprenticeship as a carpenter and wants to play ice hockey at amateur level.
There are seven championship titles nationally for Dufter. His best times over 500 m (34.42 seconds) and 1000 m (1:06.80 minutes) are German records. After retiring, Dufter initially wants to distance himself from the ice oval. In the medium term, however, Dufter can also imagine a comeback in speed skating as a coach: “I think so,” he said.
