Busemann’s World Cup column: This is how team spirit works: standing up for one another

The German men’s sprint relay team is placed on the unfavorable inside lane shortly before the preliminary heat due to a rule change, cannot cope and is eliminated. The reaction afterwards in the interview inspires the ARD athletics expert Frank Busemann: The athletes take responsibility and don’t duck away.

That’s a real scandal, one might think. Immediately before the heats of the 4×100 meter relay, the determination of the run and track distribution is changed. Until recently, it was still the case that half of the first eight relays were set on the good lanes in the two runs. It was then obviously noticed that the Americans weren’t one of them because they didn’t reach the final at the Olympic Games. Suddenly the individual times also counted and Simsalabimm, the German relay was no longer in pot 1 with the German record that had been set shortly before.

And the Germans must be lucky in love somehow, because the game always seems to be against them. Who makes the Köpper in the moat? Who twists their back before throwing the javelin? At the starting height, who ties a knot in each of the sticks that are becoming harder and harder? Who gets lane 1 in the season? Who gets zero points at the ESC? Germany. But be careful, taking on the role of victim is a rewarding exit strategy for underperformance. I can’t because there’s a problem. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying: Stay away from people who have a problem for every solution.

Inner lane sucks

Relay on the inside lane is not easy. It is not without reason that the world association has removed the 200 meters in the hall from the program. It has something to do with physics. On the inside, the sock twisting forces are a lot higher than on the outside at the same speed. In the high jump you can see that in a very extreme way. When you take off, your foot buckles inwards and the shoe seems to wrap itself around your foot. And the top speed in the curve is reached in the sprint relay. The speed may be the same, but the forces on the runners are relatively much higher on the inside than on the outside. Long story short.

To take responsibility

The German squadron had to go and ran and braked and ran and fought and switched and ran. Almost a second above the season best. It was just too slow. Unfortunately eliminated. This is a pity. But then they were interviewed by ARD presenter Maral Bazargani and inspired me. Kevin Kranz said they also wanted to run well on the inside lane. Joshua Hartmann took the blame, not knowing exactly what had happened, considering that he had made a mistake.

Owen Ansah ripped through the curve with his long bones like a world champion, he had had bad luck with the tight curve for more than 200 meters and Lucas Ansah-Peprah wanted to make up places and never gave up. No one accused the other of anything. Instinctively, the guys did something right that they might not have been aware of. Take responsibility and make the best of situations. I liked that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the final, but we can also argue to death and always see the bad.

Stand up for the other

Sport has the ability to find an excuse for everything. Too much wind, too cold, too warm, rain, sun, spectators, no spectators and the other person is to blame anyway. No, nothing helps. Do it Yourself. On lane 1, on lane 8. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes it’s harder. There are always small pros and cons. Yes, you can be angry or surprised about rule changes.

Standing up for others, looking at your own nose and thinking about what “I could have done better personally” helps you, the team and the entire team. It’s a real shame, I would have liked to have seen the boys in the final, but the good thing is, with this attitude, they’ll get there often.