Athletics star Gina Lückenkemper caused a sensation last weekend with a strong time over the 200 meters. In an exclusive conversation with RTL/NTV and Sport.de, the sprinter evaluates this appearance and explains whether the 200 meters are also an option at the upcoming World Cup.
With 22.77 seconds over the 200 meters, Gina Lückenkemper in Clermont, Florida set a big exclamation mark. For the first time since 2016, she stayed at this distance below the 23 second mark.
After the strong appearance, the 28-year-old tears of joy in his eyes. The DLV sprinter had once collected one of her first career success over the 200 meters.
Lückenkemper: “Don’t expect it”
For Lückenkemper, too, the quick time came “a bit surprising”, as they were in an exclusive interview with RTL/NTV and sport.de explained.
“I knew that I am now really good in shape after the injury, which I unfortunately found out in February. But I personally had a time around 23 zero for the day,” says Lückenkemper.
“I didn’t expect it to get so quickly,” continued the European champions from 2022. “Quite different” than her trainer, she says: “He’s just a number person and the stand there and said: With the times you ran all the time in training, it was actually clear that it was coming.”
The circle closes a bit for Lückenkemper: the 200 meters were their “first great love in athletics”. Due to injuries in the preparations, however, it had occurred in the past time that she could no longer prepare the 200 meter long in training and therefore this distance did not run in the competition.
Lückenkemper wants to run again with 200 meters again
Because she had no times because of the injury spech, Lückenkemper “no meetings came in”. That “made the situation more difficult”. In addition, the respective season planning played a role with a different structure.
The time from the weekend now opens up new opportunities for her. “I definitely want to run the 200 meters again this year,” says Lückenkemper.
Is a start of this distance at the World Cup (September 13th to 21st in Tokyo) conceivable in summer?
“I would not want to completely rule it out, but I have to qualify for it first,” explains the athlete from SCC Berlin.
“The quality is a 22.57, which I definitely have in mind. And if I should qualify over 200 meters, I would definitely not exclude a start at the World Championships over 100 and 200 meters. But I really have to be in shape accordingly.”