“Never heard from DLV again”
Running star ends career – and shoots against association
01/21/2025 – 11:32 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
At the age of 27, Marvin Schlegel ended his sporting career. The German running star criticizes the association – and the behavior of those responsible.
Marvin Schlegel became German champion in the 400 meters in 2020 and 2022. However, the running star announced the end of his career on Instagram five days ago and now spoke about the background. The 27-year-old sharply criticized the German Athletics Association (DLV).
Schlegel explained in an interview with “Sport1” that he had to end his career because his coach Dietmar Jarosch gave up his coaching job due to his age – and no suitable solution was found. Accordingly, the national coach asked him whether he could come to West Germany. However, Schlegel explained to Volker Beck that this was “difficult” due to his employment with the Saxony police.
Schlegel explained to the TV station: “Beck then said: ‘If there is something new for you, then just get in touch.’ The conversation was in August and I have never heard from the DLV since then.” Schlegel would have rejected the alternative option in Saxony because it would have included his old coach Jörg Möckel. However, Schlegel ended the collaboration due to an “internal problem that the DLV is aware of,” said the 27-year-old.
In his Instagram post at the end of his career, Marvin Schlegel wrote about “structural and personnel deficits in competitive sports.” At “Sport1” he explains: “The DLV writes openly in its code of ethics about ‘appreciation’ and ‘respect’, which it wants to embody. The manner of the phone call with my national coach doesn’t exactly bear witness to this. That had absolutely nothing to do with it ‘appreciation’ and ‘respect’.”
Schlegel didn’t have his best year in 2024 and was therefore thrown out of the national squad. He didn’t have any good words to say about the DLV either. “What I criticize: I had to find out from the DLV website that I would no longer be a member of the federal squad in 2025. I was not informed about that beforehand, even though money and funding status are also involved,” continued Schlegel.
The runner also spoke about his former relay colleague Alica Schmidt and said about the German athlete and influencer, who has over 5 million followers on Instagram: “She has reached the top of Germany, so she has a lot to offer in terms of sport. I think that’s okay “If you can earn a living doing it, I’ll give her that. She goes her own way and is still highly professional.”