The German Athletics Association (DLV) is starting the World Championships in Budapest on Saturday (19th to 27th August) with a team of 71 people. Many failures weigh heavily. But the association hopes for surprises – and the athletes are highly motivated.
Admittedly, the list of failures reads almost like a Who’s Who of German athletics. Long jump Olympic champion and defending champion Malaika Mihambo, 5,000 m European champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Vice European champion Lea Meyer (obstacle) and Vice European champion Bo Kanda Lita Baehre (pole vault) said, among other things, their participation in the competitions in the brand new “Nemzeti Atlétikai” stadium Központ”.
WM just a year after Eugene
The remaining DLV aces swear in the pre-camp in Erding for the world title fights, which will be held just one year after Eugene’s World Cup. The event in the USA had been postponed by a year due to the pandemic and was disappointing for the DLV with only two medals from Mihambo (gold) and the women’s 4x100m relay (bronze). After all, the glamorous European Championships at home in Munich followed a few weeks later.
Oregon’s World Cup result should not be repeated, but given the special circumstances, two or three medals are realistic for the German team. “We had hoped that we would be relieved in terms of sick leave at some point, but we really have to say that we are badly hit and that it really hit top-class players,” said DLV sports director Jörg Bügner.
We have an incredible number of failures, that hurts too.
“Fear”, the 54-year-old continued before his first World Cup in office, was “not a good companion” and there were “no excuses”.
Lückenkemper: “Easy would almost be boring”
Don’t worry, especially not for Germany’s cheerful and bold model athlete Gina Lückenkemper. The double European champion is in strong form and has not just become the focus of attention since the numerous failures. She doesn’t feel any pressure, the 26-year-old assured in an ARD interview, her dream year 2022 with bronze in the World Cup relay and two gold medals in the European Championships had inspired her.
She is “incredibly keen” on the World Cup – even if Alexandra Burghardt and Lisa Mayer lose half of last year’s successful season due to injuries. “Of course it’s not easy. But easy would be almost boring. The dynamics in the team are right,” stressed Germany’s Sportswoman of the Year.
Strong discus women trio and strong decathletes
In addition to Lückenkemper, only javelin thrower Julian Weber and decathlete Niklas Kaul will be at the start of the seven individual European champions from Munich. Unlike the sprinter, for whom at world level as a soloist already the targeted participation in the final would be a great success, both are among a handful of German medal contenders. The strong women’s discus trio around Olympic silver medalist Kristin Pudenz, high jumper Tobias Potye and decathlon shooting star Leo Neugebauer are also among the hopefuls of the DLV at the season highlight in Budapest, which is compressed to nine days of competition.
Record sprinter Hartmann: “Desire for the challenge”
But others are also in focus. Like Joshua Hartmann, for example. The sprinter shattered the 18-year-old German record over 200 m this summer (20.02 seconds) and is looking forward to duels with his idols like Noah Lyles and Fred Kerley at the first World Championships in Athletics in Hungary.
While for him it’s all about getting ahead and the “desire for the challenge”, the second new German record holder Neugebauer (8,836 points) can dream of precious metal. “I feel great and I’m really up for it. I know that I can really do something big,” said the 23-year-old, who is studying in the USA, of ARD.
How high does Mondo Duplantis fly?
From Saturday (19.08.2023) 2,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will go hunting for medals on the large athletics stage, including stars from a European perspective such as Norway’s wonder runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 400m hurdles world record holder and Olympic champion Karsten Warholm ( Norway) or his discipline colleague Femke Bol from the Netherlands. And then there is the question: Will Sweden’s high-flyer Armand Duplantis set the next world record in pole vaulting?
Bügner and Stein hope for surprises
Big names, big sport, Bügner is looking forward to the challenge of being able to prove the performance of German athletics on a world scale. “The medal chances are certainly manageable. But we have to face the challenges as they come. We believe that we will perform well despite everything. We have a good team at the start,” he confirmed.
The aim must be that the athlete delivers the best individual performance. We can measure that. And then we’ll see what that’s worth in an international context.
Like Annett Stein, the 54-year-old is hoping for surprises. “We know we’re not going into this championship with the best players, but the athletes are motivated to the core,” said the DLV head coach. That is the basic requirement, “that you are in attack mode and don’t let failures irritate you,” added Bügner. “Those who are on the pitch then have to perform.”