Party knows about illness
German Olympic champion runs for Die Linke
Updated June 8, 2026 – 7:41 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Olympic champion Christoph Harting dares to enter politics. The former discus thrower is running for Die Linke in Berlin-Lichtenberg.
Olympic discus throw champion Christoph Harting is drawn to politics. The 36-year-old is running for Die Linke in the Berlin parliamentary election in September. In Lichtenberg he is running as a direct candidate in constituency 1. “I stand up for my people, simple people, socially disadvantaged people,” said Harting in a recent interview with the “Berliner Morgenpost”.
Social justice is a big issue for the former competitive athlete and federal police officer, who still does his political work on a voluntary basis. “For me, left-wing politics is always the right politics,” said Harting, who is particularly concerned about the ever-growing AfD. Choosing this is wrong. “Because by doing so we give power to people who have no integrity intentions. But half of those around me probably vote for AfD.”
Harting suffers from depression
Harting made his mental illness public three years ago and declared that he was suffering from depression. “No one is immune from it. No matter how successful or unsuccessful they were,” he told the “Berliner Zeitung” at the time. The federal police officer has been “unable to work until further notice” since mid-2024, as a Left spokeswoman explained to the “Bild” newspaper.
“Mr. Harting deals openly with his illness, which deserves our greatest respect. This fact has also been known within the Left from the beginning,” said the spokeswoman. This does not stand in the way of the election campaign. Voluntary work cannot be compared to active work in the police service in terms of scope or intensity.