Annika Meissner won the first medal for the German team at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. Over 5,000 meters, the Hessin ran to silver. Full grandstands have already caused enthusiasm.
The competitions of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin received enthusiastic support from the grandstands at the start. In front of a full ranks in the Hanns Braun Stadium in the Olympic Park, runners and throwers have been completing their classifications to constant applause from the audience since Sunday (June 18th, 2023). In the classifications, the athletes are divided into groups with similarly strong athletes before the final decisions are made.
Meissner with a personal best
The Hessian track and field athlete Annika Meissner won the first medal for the German team on Monday morning (June 19, 2023). The 36-year-old finished second over 5,000 meters in the Hanns-Braun-Stadion in the Olympic Park after 27:28.97 minutes and secured silver with her personal best. Monica Prieto from Paraguay won gold (21:40.13 minutes).
Leonie Spehr from Rellingen (Schleswig-Holstein), who finished last over 1,500 meters, had already completed her run the day before. All the more she enjoyed the cheers on the opposite grandstand with more than just a smile. She was “a little” happy, said the 15-year-old, who will compete again over the 1,500 meters in her class final on Monday. On the remaining days, the 40-strong athletics group, including eight trainers, will cheer on the other athletes.
The German Unified soccer players won 2-0 against the USA on Sunday.
Ambitious Unified footballers defeat USA
The German Unified soccer players were also followed enthusiastically in their first game against the USA. In the mixed team, four athletes with intellectual disabilities and three without will play together for 20 minutes twice. Wolfsburg’s Flavio Roma put Germany on the road to victory with the opening goal to a 2-0 win. The 32-year-old offensive player was very ambitious after his debut at the World Games: “We want to win gold”.
The German team has more than 400 athletes at the World Games for people with mental and multiple disabilities, it is the largest delegation in the capital. The Special Olympics will run until June 25th.
The schedule of the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin at a glance.