The German half-time conclusion of the World Championships in Athletics is sobering. A tenth place is the best DLV result in Eugene so far. Many athletes focus on the home EM. Head coach Annett Stein criticizes, but also points to some German medal chances.
“The aces and point bringers come in the second part of the World Cup, but I admit that we fell short of our expectations in the first part,” said Stein on the fifth day of the World Championships in an ARD interview. “As expectations, we formulated that as many athletes as possible exhaust their potential. And we were looking forward to a few surprises. That didn’t happen.”
No top eight result in the first five days
On the first five days of competition there were not only no medals, but also no placing in the top eight. When 36 athletes started, there were two personal bests and six season bests. Pole vaulter Jacqueline Otchere’s tenth place was the best result of the German Athletics Association (DLV).
In 2019 in Doha/Qatar, the DLV aces had won six medals, including two gold medals from long jumper Malaika Mihambo and Niklas Kaul in the decathlon. Both are among the few hopefuls in the second half of the World Cup.
WM decisive for funding
From a German point of view, the first World Cup in the USA is rippling along and that could have a bitter aftermath. Because the World Cup alone is decisive for the allocation of funding. Stein had already pointed this out before the start of the world title fights in Eugene.
But many athletes are focusing on the upcoming home European Championships in Munich (15th to 21st August). “We have positioned the World Cup very, very strongly in the association,” said Stein. “But probably it was not possible to put this World Cup in the focus of most athletes because the European Championship is very present.”
Mihambo: “EM in Munich is the secret highlight”
At the European level, the level of performance is completely different, and the chances of good results are much higher for the DLV starters. “The European Championships in Munich is the secret highlight, it’s the most fun to start in your own country,” said long jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo.
It’s the most fun to start in your own country.
ARD expert Busemann questions the basic attitude
Not everyone can understand this concentration on the EM. ARD athletics expert Frank Busemann, formerly a decathlete, questions the basic attitude of some DLV starters in this context: “Anyone who suddenly has a back door, a plan B, is not there with 100 percent, but only with 98. And Everyone knows what that means in competitive sports.”
Young athletes gain important experience
Among the 78 athletes in the DLV team in Eugene there are only a few serious contenders for a medal after some top performers such as javelin throwers Johannes Vetter and Christin Hussong, Olympic walking silver medalist Jonathan Hilbert and heptathlete Carolin Schäfer had canceled.
Stein defended the decision to still travel to Eugene with such a large team – especially in view of the support from national funds. “We are evaluated according to the structure in the association, according to the results and according to how many participants in world championships we generate and bring to the start,” said Stein: “That’s why we try to take everyone to such a competition.”
DLV athletes are under pressure to succeed
DLV CEO Idriss Gonschinska had said in the run-up to the World Cup that the “summer of athletics” with world and European championships within just a few weeks was a great opportunity “for the perception and visibility” of the sport. The DLV team in Eugene threatens to gamble away the first part of the “great opportunity”.
In order to be noticed, to remain relevant and, ideally, to generate new blood, results must be produced. In Eugene and even more so at the European Championships in Munich. The EM has the advantage that it is likely to receive more media attention than the World Cup, where most of the action takes place on the German night.