In athletics, Germany is experiencing a miserable World Cup, exceptional rower Oliver Zeider not only criticizes his association harshly. Top German sport is experiencing difficult times and is looking for solutions. The first suggestions come from the Athletes Germany Association.
The athletes? are angry. The politic? Want more medals. The fans? Craving for new stars. While the European Championships are starting in Munich, there is a lot of rumbling going on in German sport. Of course it’s about money, power and structures. Above all, however, is the really big question: What kind of sport do we actually want to have in Germany?
Everyone agrees that the fight for gold, silver and bronze is nothing without better youth development. “We have to take a close look at where we are losing talent on the threshold of top-class sport. What incentives can we set? Are they monetary? Then there would be distribution difficulties at the moment,” said Managing Director Johannes Herber from the Athleten Deutschland association: “From our point of view, it is important to further professionalize career paths. Of course, this includes income opportunities and social security.”
Most recently, athletics stars such as Malaika Mihambo and Gina Lückenkemper or rower Oliver Zeidler had criticized the structures in German sport, sometimes loudly. “We have to completely rethink and question everything,” said Zeidler to the “Münchner Merkur”: “The claim of society is always that we should get as many medals as possible. But then a corresponding rethinking must take place. You don’t get anything without effort .”
For young people, however, top-class sport is apparently becoming less and less attractive. Example athletics: In the U-area, the German talents have been celebrating great success for years, but there was a debacle recently at the World Championships in Eugene. The balancing act between the time-consuming training and vocational training is becoming increasingly difficult, not everyone wants to join the Bundeswehr. And expecting semi-professionals “that they can keep up with full professionals” just couldn’t work, Lückenkemper recently wrote on Instagram, which then even had to be reprimanded by the DLV.
And so the stars that the little ones can look up to have been fewer for years, and not just in athletics. For Mihambo and Herber, strengthening the base is crucial for a brighter future. “Because only when there is a broad base can a broad peak grow from it,” said Mihambo.
But how can this work? Sport must be given more priority in daycare centers and schools, “because that’s where the children spend most of the day. There must be a link between schools and clubs, a transfer,” said Herber. The former basketball pro also calls for the coaching profession “to be upgraded. Coaches are a valuable resource for educating young people. We have to understand that coaching is a craft and not just any hobby.”
But before the redistribution of money or reforms can even start, according to Herber, the all-important question must first be answered as to which goals should be pursued in German sport. “Do we want to promote diversity or maximize medals? Do we want to compete with nations in which doping is proven and children are already doing competitive sports under immense pressure and training? How can the radiance of top-class sport benefit as many people as possible,” asked Herber: “The answers to that are not trivial and opinions differ.” It rumbles.
