Coach Peter Mueller once worked successfully for the German Speed Skating Association. In the discussion about grievances within the DESG, he makes a devastating judgment about President Matthias Große.
The former DESG coach Peter Mueller spoke out with harsh criticism of association president Matthias Große in the discussion about grievances in the German speed skating and short track community.
“Big took office in 2020 and promised the blue sky that he wanted to bring the DESG back to its old greatness – the DESG is now light years away from that. On the contrary, a lot of things have only gotten worse,” said the 71-year-old German-American to ARD.
Matthias Große, President of the German Speed Skating and Short Track Association. V. DESG
There is a great lack of “fairness and empathy”
From Mueller’s point of view, who now lives in Florida, there is no prospect of improvement because there is a “great lack of fairness and empathy.” For him, “this man is de facto the death of German speed skating”.
The 1000 m Olympic champion from Innsbruck in 1976 worked as national coach for the sprint and middle distances at the base in Erfurt for three years from the beginning of 2021. “There was practically never any sensible communication,” said Mueller.
“I personally learned from athletes what was reported on ARD, for example about bonus payments that were promised and not paid out. There were always financial capers in the association,” said Mueller: “I tried to get things straightened out with the DESG leadership, but it was in vain.”
“Terrible climate of fear”
In his long coaching career, which took him to the speed skating nations of the Netherlands and Norway, the former world-class athlete “never worked in an association that was run as disastrous as the DESG under Matthias Große.”
During his time in the DESG there was “a terrible climate of fear”: “I hardly know of any cases in which athletes dared to turn to the executive board with grievances. They preferred to keep it to themselves.”
Speed skating coach Peter Müller (r.) with Claudia Pechstein in 2018
“Without regard for others”
“In my impression, Große and Pechstein always only did what they wanted and what was convenient for them personally, without considering others – especially without considering many athletes,” added Mueller.
His DESG contract was not extended at the end of the 2024 season. The coach still doesn’t know the background to this decision. “I don’t know what was going on with him. For me it was a lack of critical ability.” At that time, the association officially cited a restructuring of the coaching department as the reason for the separation from Mueller.
Athletes “torn out”
“With the separation from me, my boys in Erfurt were also completely torn away not two years before the Olympics. And that is the real shame,” said Mueller. His own disappointment with Große and the five-time Olympic champion Pechstein does not play a role in his criticism of the content.
“I helped Claudia Pechstein when she was at the bottom because of her doping case. I came to Berlin especially and trained her in her private team for her comeback,” explained Mueller: “The fact that she and Mr. Große basically left me behind later was like a slap in the face for me.”
Große wants to comment on Thursday
Pechstein and Große responded to an ARD request with a letter from a lawyer in which they stated that they needed more time to comment. They did not comment on the matter.
After an ARD investigation into grievances in the DESG, Große invited people to a press conference in Berlin on Thursday. The real estate entrepreneur wants to comment on the publications for the first time there.
Among other things, it became public that athletes had to pay “participation fees” for important competitions such as World Cups – a practice that the DESG athlete representation is now having legally reviewed. Große was criticized in the reporting and increasingly afterwards by athletes, among others, for non-transparent actions. Accusations of good governance failures were made again and again.
“I’m glad that the DESG, its president Große and the situation within the association are now being discussed publicly again,” said Mueller: “I know all of this, a lot of things have come up for me again in the last few days.”
