Harsh criticism after the World Cup gossip: athletics bosses dismantle the German team

Tough announcement: Chief national coach Annett Stein and association president Jürgen Kessing draw a sobering conclusion of the German performance at the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene. Almost half of the athletes would not have been able to perform at their best, says Stein.

The German Athletics Association has drawn a disappointing balance of the World Cup in Eugene. “We have to admit that we are not satisfied with the outcome of the World Cup and that we did not expect it to be so,” said head coach Annett Stein. After ten days of competition, only gold by long jump star Malaika Mihambo and a bronze medal for the women’s sprint relay were recorded. This is the worst German yield in World Cup history. The fewest medals to date were in Paris in 2003 with one silver and three bronze.

“The aim was to access the medal potential and improve the result of the Olympic Games,” said Stein. In Tokyo, the DLV aces had won three medals. Stein explained that at the World Championships in Eugene, 40 to 45 percent of the 80 German athletes were unable to perform at their best. The failure of medal candidates such as the javelin aces Johannes Vetter and Christin Hussong as well as the heptathlete Carolin Schäfer and the Olympic silver medalist in walking, Jonathan Hilbert, also caused problems. In addition, the German World Cup team was affected by a number of corona cases before and during the world title fights.

Despite the poor performance in the World Cup, the DLV is hoping for a better result at the home European Championship from August 15th to 21st in Munich. “I would wish if we could achieve a double-digit medal result,” said DLV President Jürgen Kessing, who also saw Mihambo’s title defense only “as a nice touch” on the balance sheet. After all: On the last day of the competition, the pole vaulters Oleg Zernikel (5th) and Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (7th) as well as the decathlete Niklas Kaul (6th) got at least three more top places. Previously, only Julian Weber (Speer/4th) and Claudine Vita (Discus/5th) were able to place in the top eight.