This is behind the German Olympic debacle
Feb 19, 2026 8:47 am | 1:45m
Whether in biathlon, on the ski slopes or in ice hockey: German athletes are experiencing a fiasco at the Winter Olympics. An expert explains to RTL/ntv and sport.de what’s behind it.
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The tears are hard to hide despite the glasses. Biathlon ace Franziska Preuß needs consolation and a lot of it. When she’s in first place she goes to the standing stage, hits well at first and then doesn’t hit at all. Despite three reloads, a black disc remains at the end. Penalty lap for Germany. The Olympic pressure may have been too great.
Of course, if I’m on the verge of a possible success and I practically have it in mind that I might be able to win a medal, that can also distract me from the actual task. And even if these thoughts are only in the back of my mind somewhere, they can disrupt my course.
The German biathlon women ended up fourth and once again missed out on the medal they longed for. There was also a bitter disappointment for Lena Dürr in the slalom. Second place after the first run. The decisive second run ends after just a few seconds. The mistake The medal was lost right after the first goal.
You don’t really realize it, especially when it happens at the first goal. That’s why I was still standing up there and then you somehow think that you’ll get another run because it doesn’t even sink in. Somehow in your brain that it’s already over before it even starts.
This is also what happens to the German ice hockey men. Two to six defeat against Slovakia in the quarter-finals sang and were eliminated without a sound. Here too, high expectations were disappointed.
You can’t take the pressure off. But we can help the athletes deal with this pressure. There have to be people who then become relevant. When I’m afraid of losing, when I’m possibly afraid of making mistakes.
And it is precisely these people who now not only have to comfort Franziska Preuß and rebuild her.