First a tremor, then early Olympic qualification: The German gymnasts don’t have to wait until Sunday for the Paris tickets they’ve been waiting for, but were able to celebrate beforehand.
The German gymnasts can plan for the Olympic Games in Paris. The team of national coach Valeri Belenki scored 248.862 points in the qualification for the team all-around competition at the World Championships in Antwerp on Saturday. The team from the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) took fourth place in the interim rankings after four of six elimination rounds. Since only eight nations are starting in the final two rounds this Sunday, It is almost impossible to deny the German team the place they need to qualify for the Olympics. However, instead of twelfth place, eleventh place could be necessary because the Chinese who have already qualified are behind the DTB ranks. “I’m relieved. That was an extraordinary performance today,” said Belenki, “I’m honestly calm about the Olympics now. But we’ll just wait and see tomorrow.” Furthermore, his quintet can hope to reach the team final on Tuesday.
Photo gallery
German gymnastics team in Antwerp
German gymnasts are improving
The German team with Lukas Dauser (Unterhaching), Pascal Brendel (Wetzlar), Nils Dunkel and Nick Klessing (both Halle/Saale) as well as Lucas Kochan (Cottbus) started solidly on the horizontal bar and on the floor, but without any highlights. After a masterful exercise on Dunkel’s pommel horse, the team improved on the rings, the vault and Dauser’s exercise on the parallel bars, where the Olympic silver medalist showed the best performance of all gymnasts on the first day with 15.300 points. “My boys didn’t show any nerves and worked really well,” said Belenki: “It was an improvement run in which we rewarded ourselves at the end.” Dauser was also relieved: “We’ve always been working towards this moment,” said the 30-year-old: “It’s a very nice feeling to be able to go to sleep relaxed now.”
Third injury for the German gymnasts
The German gymnasts, on the other hand, seem to be plagued by bad luck with injuries. Two days before qualifying in the team all-around competition on Monday, national coach Gerben Wiersma’s team is worried about the use of Lea Marie Quaas at the World Championships in Antwerp. The 18-year-old from Chemnitz suffered a knee injury while jumping during podium training on Friday. The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) announced on Saturday that their use was questionable. A decision should be made on Sunday morning. Anna-Lena König (Karlsruhe) would join the team as a replacement.
Previously there were already the German record champion Elisabeth Seitz (Stuttgart) due to a ruptured Achilles tendon and Emma Malewski canceled. The former European balance beam champion tore the syndesmosis in her left foot during a training fall on her parade machine shortly before the World Championships. Without the two best German all-arounders in 2023, the DTB women will have to compete at the World Championships in Antwerp. It is the only chance to qualify as a team for the Olympic Games.
