The German team for the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 has gained new fans: The professionals from the second division soccer team 1. FC Nürnberg visited the last training camp of the Special Olympics Team Germany in Herzogenaurach one day after their 2-2 win at 1. FC Magdeburg .
“There are really good players here,” said Felix Lohkemper, who scored twice for the club the day before: “They will definitely be successful in Berlin.”
The World Games for people with mental and multiple disabilities will take place in the German capital from June 17th to 25th for the first time in Germany. This weekend, more than half of the 415 athletes on the German team will be doing their final preparatory courses.
On the adidas campus in Herzogenaurach, which is also the training ground of the German national soccer team, not only the soccer teams, but also the basketball teams and beach volleyball teams prepare. “It is a special motivation for our athletes to prepare for their world games here at adidas, where numerous Olympic athletes and world champions have already trained. The participation of the soccer professionals or the national biathlon team gives an extra boost played in beach volleyball here at adidas in the unified teams,” said Jan Neubert, Director of Communications at Special Olympics Germany: “To create these encounters, participation for our athletes. That is also a goal for us at the World Games . Our team has definitely won a lot of new fans here.”
In addition to Herzogenaurach in Franconia, there were also training camps in Kienbaum (swimming and open water swimming), Stuttgart (canoeing), Eschwege (boccia) and Frankfurt (hockey) at the weekend.
A total of almost 7,000 athletes from 190 countries will start in 26 sports at the World Games. The Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, the largest multisport event in Germany since the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, will open on June 17 with the opening ceremony in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.