Zhangjiakou (dpa) – Cross-country skiing team boss Peter Schlickenrieder clearly denounced his men’s sprint weakness at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“We’re rather weak in the boys’ chests. That’s our big Achilles’ heel,” said former top athlete Schlickenrieder before the Olympic sprint races in Zhangjiakou. “We’re not hoping for too much from this, so we’ll have to launch a sprint initiative in the future,” said Schlickenrieder. The German Ski Association (DSV) only has one starter for men: Janosch Brugger.
The 51-year-old Schlickenrieder is much more confident with the women. “It would be a huge success if we got one of the girls in the top 10. The goal should be to get three into the finals,” announced the team boss. Germany’s cross-country skiers are just outsiders in all Olympic decisions. The two relay teams and Katharina Hennig over ten kilometers still have the best chances.