“Even more possible”
Katarina Witt addresses a topic close to her heart
Updated April 24, 2026 – 4:04 amReading time: 2 minutes
Katarina Witt was at the top of the world herself and enjoyed the spotlight week after week. Today’s top athletes don’t see enough of it, she says.
Figure skating icon Katarina Witt wants “more appreciation for competitive sport in society.” At the presentation of the winter sports results of the Deutsche Sporthilfe Foundation in Berlin, the two-time Olympic champion referred to values “such as performance, fair play and togetherness, which our society currently needs more than ever.”
In Witt’s opinion, there is a lack of recognition for the performance of top athletes. “They are role models, especially for young people – but they are not in the spotlight enough,” said Witt and added: “Here too, more is possible.”
Max Hartung, board spokesman for Sporthilfe, linked the “performance report” of the 2025/26 Olympic winter with a clear work order. The past season’s successes were achieved by “impressive personalities” with “passion, courage and team spirit,” said the former fencing world champion: “At the same time, the results show that there is still potential to be exploited.” Hartung also believes: “More is possible.”
Sporthilfe therefore wants to “work even more resolutely for better conditions in Germany”. The goal, said Hartung, is “that sponsored athletes become visible in the entire variety of sports, in young disciplines as well as in traditional ones.”
The winter balance of the athletes supported by Sporthilfe includes 139 international medals at the Olympic Games, Paralympics, World and European Championships. The foundation paid out 2.24 million euros in funding to 705 winter sports athletes, of which 788,000 euros came from the federal government.
Minister of State for Sports Christiane Schenderlein represented this at the presentation on Thursday. The CDU politician expressed her pride in the achievements and promised that the government is committed to “specifically strengthening and further developing competitive sport in Germany.” Schenderlein highlighted the “important contribution” of Sporthilfe, which supports athletes in “unfolding their full potential”.