The World Championships were a disaster for German athletics, but a breakthrough for Olivia Gürth: final, best time and Olympic norm. The obstacle talent has arrived at the big ones.
The emotions could hardly have been more different at the end of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. On the one hand, German athletics did not win a medal and thus recorded the worst World Cup result of all time. On the other hand, there is an obstacle runner who has advanced into new dimensions: Olivia Gürth from Diezer TSK Oranien (Rhein-Lahn-Kreis) ran with a new personal best time and Olympic norm in the 3,000-meter obstacle final in 14th place.
Gürth breaks the Krause record
For a long time it was not certain whether the steeplechase runner would even be able to start at the World Championships. The steeplechase runner didn’t have the norm, but she was able to secure a place on the world rankings. The 21-year-old is still in the junior class, and starting at the World Championships was her first major appearance in the adult category.
Normally you learn the hard way at your first international championship: making mistakes, gaining experience and learning. Gürth skipped this intermediate step. It was “BAMM” for her: With the best time, she made it into the finals and was even able to tick off the Olympic standard for Paris 2024 with another personal best of 9:20.08. With this performance, she also cracked the German junior record Training colleague Gesa Krause.
year of superlatives
The result at the World Championships was the icing on the cake of a perfect season for the high-flyer Gürth from Diez. Oliva Gürth surprised herself with five personal bests, double gold at the German Junior Championships, the U23 European Championship title and her World Cup success: “There were signs of success, but I didn’t think it would go so well.”
Olivia Gürth’s successful 2023 season
- 5 personal bests: 800 meters in 2:03.70 | 1,500 meters in 4:14.86 | 3,000 meters in 9:12.76 | 2,000 meter steeplechase in 6:21.38 | 3,000 meters steeplechase in 9:20.08
- double gold at the German Junior Championships over 1,500 meters and 3,000 meters obstacle
- Silver at the German Active Championships over 3,000 meters obstacle
- gold at the U23 European Championships over 3,000 meters steeplechase
- 14th place at the World Championships in Budapest
- German U23 best performance and Olympic standard over 3,000 meters obstacle
Europeans can keep up in running
The German Athletics Association (DLV) was not able to place in the top eight in any race. On the track, Olivia Gürth’s result was the best result for the German team. Despite the absences of Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Lea Meyer, Hanna Klein and Katharina Trost, many people express concerns that Germany has lost touch with the world leaders.
Gürth regrets the bad performance of the German team. The performance of the European runners, such as the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen (gold in the 5,000 meters) motivates her that the African dominance in long-distance running is over: “It should also be possible for us Germans to have more runners at a World Cup again .”
Elite-training group in Frankfurt with the Olympic trio
The performance increases from Gürth are no coincidence. Diezerin joined the Frankfurt training group of successful coach Wolfgang Heinig last autumn. There she trains, among other things, together with the European champion Gesa Krause, who started training again after her baby break, and Slovenia’s Maruša Mišmaš-Zrimšek, who set a national record of 9:06.37 in the World Championships final. The chances are not bad that the three athletes could be in the Olympic finals together in 2024.
A crucial building block for Gürth’s rapid development is the mountain air. Under Wolfgang Heinig, Gürth competed in her first high-altitude training camps in Kenya and South Africa and was able to improve significantly in training. For Gürth, the combination of a world-class training group and altitude training is the key to her success.
Full focus on the sport
Competitive sport, high-altitude training camps and trips to competitions: for Gürth, this is a lifestyle that inspires her. For the time being, she would like to devote her life to competitive sports: “If not now, then when?” She gets financial backing from a large sporting goods manufacturer who has signed her. The sports promotion group of the Bundeswehr could also be another building block in the future.
Nevertheless, Gürth does not lose sight of her professional future: with an online biology degree she keeps her enthusiasm for science going.
Personal dream: own dog
Gürth is ambitious, goal-oriented and knows the hardships involved in competitive sport. Besides training camps, regeneration, competition trips and studies, there is little time for other things. The best place for her to switch off is at home with her parents and the family dogs: “Animals mean a lot to me, I used to ride a lot, but unfortunately there’s no time for that anymore.”
Goal: International medal
Gürth has already cracked the qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris. After her World Cup success, she would like to run into the final there again and continue to improve. Her greatest sporting dream: winning an international medal. She can see how this works in training directly from her colleague Gesa Krause, who has already managed this feat several times.
