Then he had 30,000 Russian followers and was able to use his channel as a mouthpiece for Ukrainian biathlete Merkushyna. Having the thought is one thing. Implementing that is another. This clear positioning is not always pleasant either, even if 90 percent agree, the rest can be unpleasant and I find that very courageous.
sports show: How important is it for you, as an active or former athlete, to have an attitude?
I think it’s important, but I don’t think it should be asked of everyone. But I think it’s good when someone stands up for something and can justify it. But the Russian athletes are in quite a dilemma. As far as I know, they are not behind this war of aggression either – unlike a large part of the Russian population, which is also due to the disinformation. We view them somewhat critically, simply because they are Russians.
But if they position themselves clearly at home, they will also be ostracized there. This is a very difficult situation for them because they can expect reprisals. That’s why I find it difficult to say that they should position themselves clearly. They also have families who want to know that they are safe and that’s not necessarily the case in Russia if you take a clear anti-state and anti-government stance.
sports show: Having an attitude was also very important for you as a sports show pundit during the Beijing Winter Olympics. How did you experience these games?
Those games were… very curious. Before that, there were major concerns that I share. I myself was a big critic of these games, because my basic opinion is that by awarding the Olympic Games you don’t push a democratic process and bring about no changes. The opposite is the case: you use it to legitimize a certain form of government or government.
It’s almost like a mark of quality attached to a state. The example of China showed that: Beijing already had the summer games in 2008 and from the outside I could not see any democratization or improvement in freedom of expression. And neither do experts.
sports show: The IOC seems to disagree. The argument was: This is how we can look at it.
That makes it easy, I think. That doesn’t suit me. In 2014, during the Paralympics, Crimea was annexed and the Olympic truce was already broken. So this tactic doesn’t seem to work. I was very critical of the games in China beforehand. Then something happens – and of course the organizers and the IOC also rely on it – when the first medals and emotions come, it covers the criticism.
I find it very difficult to find the balance in the transmissions. Of course you want to give the athletes the attention and not mess everything up. In addition to being happy about medals, it’s difficult to make it clear that we don’t fundamentally agree that the games should take place here.
sports show: From a sporting point of view, a German newcomer has played fantastic games. How do you see Vanessa Voigt developing?
I’m really excited because she’s really continuously improved as she runs. I think you can say that too: three years ago nobody would have believed that she would even run in the World Cup. That she then also gets an Olympic medal … She has developed insanely. That was actually the biggest highlight of the season for the women – this development.
sports show: The biathlon season is over – what are you doing now?
Watching a biathlon is no longer possible. But I work in the Federal Police’s elite sport promotion department and I also deal with many other athletes outside of biathlon. There are twelve winter sports that we look after here, so I get an insight into what’s going on with the others and that’s a nice balance.
The conversation was conducted by Julia Kleine