Beijing (dpa) – The choice of bobsleigh pusher Thorsten Margis as the flag bearer of the Olympic closing ceremony also has symbolic power for top-class German sport: a strong push is needed to make it more comprehensively fit for future summer and winter games.
A look at the medal table of the Beijing Games with 27 medals (12 gold/10 silver/5 bronze) and second place behind Norway (37) and ahead of host China (15) satisfied the German Olympic Sports Confederation, but did not hide a flaw: Only two professional associations provided the medals.
“We achieved a good result and are among the three best winter sports nations,” summed up Head of Mission Dirk Schimmelpfennig. “Certainly we are less diversified than four years ago, when five associations were able to participate in the medal balance,” he explained. The German Olympians brought 31 medals from South Korea, compared to only 19 in Sochi in 2014.
Rain of medals in the ice channel
The lugers, skeleton pilots and bobsledders, who were on the podium 16 times in the Yanqing ice track – nine times in first place – had the greatest share in the German success this year. Finally, Francesco Friedrich celebrated his second Olympic gold in four-man bobsleigh after winning in two-man bobsleigh. Johannes Lochner won silver. “We didn’t expect this dominance from the athletes of the German Bobsleigh and Sled Association,” said Schimmelpfennig.
Eleven further gold, silver and bronze medals are due to the athletes of the German Ski Association. Hours before the end of the game, the alpine skiers with team silver were able to prevent a farewell without medals like in 2018. DSV sports director Wolfgang Maier was “extremely happy” about it.
The DOSB is less happy and more concerned about the performance gap between the associations and their sports. Especially since the top sports reform in Beijing should bring more income for the first time. Instead, it turned out that too many sports are no longer among the best in the world: These include speed and figure skating, curling and short track. The early end of the ice hockey men (10th place) was also disappointing. The women’s team did not qualify.
“The worm isn’t in there, but we should take a critical look at the concept and update it,” said Schimmelpfennig about the controversial reform that started in 2015. The DOSB head of sports also calls for a fundamental debate about which competitive sport you generally want to have in Germany in the future: “Whether we want to continue to promote diversity or promote individual sports more specifically.” However, concentrating on strong sports also harbors a risk if medal providers fail completely, as did the bobsledders in 2014.
Tokyo as a warning example
Without the skating aces in the ice channel and the athletes in the cross-country ski run, at the shooting range and on the hill, the worries after Beijing would be greater. Germany experienced how quickly things can go downhill at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, when it had its worst track record since reunification with 37 medals and ninth place.
It is therefore important to bring sports such as speed skating on the road to success, in which 69 Olympic medals are awarded. “It is therefore important to look at the strategic and content-related program of the association,” said Schimmelpfennig. For him, this is not a project until the next Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026, but rather one that could bear fruit in 2030.
The freestylers proved what persistent development work can achieve. In ski cross, Daniela Maier unexpectedly won the first (bronze) Olympic medal in this hip sport segment. The development work in skeleton is also paying off more and more: Hannah Neise and Christopher Grotheer each won gold. The surprises also included the Olympic victories of biathlete Denise Herrmann, the Nordic combined athlete Vinzenz Geiger and in the team sprint of the cross-country skiers with Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl.
DOSB President Weikert: “Functional Games”
The results of the games in China, which has been criticized for human rights violations in dealing with Uyghurs and Tibetans, also include a sports-political classification. “These were functional games, the flair and the spectators were missing,” said DOSB President Thomas Weikert, also referring to the corona restrictions in the sealed off Olympic restricted area. “We don’t want that anymore.”
That is why he is pleased that not only the 2026 Winter Games are returning to the Italian Alps and thus to Europe. “The future of the Olympic Games looks promising because the next games are in democratic countries,” said Weikert. Namely for the summer after Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032. The DOSB would like to add an application to this series of Olympic cities. “It’s certainly realistic to apply, but we have to do our homework,” said Weikert.