Athlete gives interview – then it bursts out of him

“Mother is dying”

Runner gives a winner interview-then it bursts out of him

The athlete Karl Bebendorf gave a remarkable interview on the edge of the German Championships in Dresden. He reported on his mother’s difficult fate.

A remarkable interview occurred on Saturday evening on Saturday evening. After the 3000-meter obstacle in the Heinz-Steyer Stadium, the winner, Karl Bebendorf, went to the ARD microphone and reported on his feelings after the triumph.

ARD reporter Claus Lufe first congratulated the freshly baked German champion on the successful race and asked Bebendorf what it means to have won the title in Dresden.

“It was extremely important because so many friends and acquaintances from my homeland wanted to cheer me on here,” said the 29-year-old athlete.

But then he added: “But it also has something sad. My mom, who would have liked to have been here, that it is in her last days in her deathbed – with cancer. And I would like to have it so much”. Then Bebendorf’s voice stalled, he was visibly moved. “I actually run with her thoughts all season. She can no longer see it because she is under pain relievers all the time.”

Bebendorf is the dominant German runner over the 3000-meter obstacle in recent years. Between 2019 and 2025 he voted for the German champion six times on his parade route, at the European Championships in Rome he won the bronze medal in 2024. One of the previous highlights of his career was participation in the Olympic Games in Paris, where he left in the lead.

At the ARD microphone, he thanked his terminally ill mother: “She brought me the whole career so far, and, yes, for me that is a very big affair to get victory here in my home country.”

ARD-man Lufen asked how Bebendorf could prepare for the race under the circumstances. “I only came out of the training camp on Thursday,” said the obstacle specialist. “I was in St. Moritz, left my mother alone for four weeks. Everything just to be able to perform here. That worked, luckily.”

He admitted that the race had taken place for him under very special signs: “There was no competition for me today. That shouldn’t sound pejorative, but for me only victory counted – and nothing else.”