Athletics-DM - 9.99 seconds - Ansah with 100 meters for sports history
After breaking the 10-second barrier, Owen Ansah posed proudly and with a wide smile in front of the timing board. He became the first German sprinter to run under 10 seconds over the 100 meters. "It had to happen sometime. It happened today," said the German champion Ansah. "And I'm mega-happy that I was the first."
"Goosebumps" for Lückenkemper
On the particularly prestigious sprint track, where Armin Hary was the first to cross the finish line in under 10 seconds, stopwatch in hand, Ansah broke the eight-year-old German record of Julian Reus by two hundredths of a second at the German Athletics Championships in Braunschweig. Gina Lückenkemper felt "goosebumps" during this spectacular title race moment and just before her own victory over 100 meters.
"You earn a record. It doesn't just happen. You have to train day after day," said Ansah. The crowd of 13,517 spectators cheered him on with thunderous applause during the victory lap. ARD expert Frank Busemann was thrilled. "We've been waiting for this for decades. Leichtathletik needs something like this," said the former world-class decathlete.
Trainer talks about "Sports History"
Ansah competes for Hamburger SV and trains in Mannheim under former European long jump champion Sebastian Bayer. The coach spoke of a chapter in "Sports History" after his athlete's feat. "I hope this is a positive push," said the 38-year-old. The world record of Jamaica's exceptional sprinter Usain Bolt, which he set in Berlin in 2009, is in a different league and at 9.58 seconds.
Ansah dedicated his victory to his father before the Cologne favorite Joshua Hartmann (10.06 seconds). His father's birthday was around the championships in Braunschweig. "He said he would like to have the gold medal," said the sprinter. Done - and how! Ansah can now look forward to an individual Olympic start and a relay race.
My Father as Role Model
"My role model is my father. He came to Germany with nothing," said the 23-year-old about the man who comes from Ghana and was once a track and field athlete himself. With his advice - and the motivation from his sports teacher in the seventh grade - Owen Ansah also got into track and field.
For Ansah, the record and a ticket to Paris are the initial high points after a long period of suffering. The 23-year-old was sidelined by an injury to his thigh bone in the previous year and could not train for six months. "That was a tough time, but that's part of it," said the Hamburg SV athlete. All the more beautiful when it pays off on the blue track in Braunschweig.
- Owen Ansah's record-breaking 100-meter sprint at the German Athletics Championships in Braunschweig, where he ran under 10 seconds, also gave Gina Lückenkemper goosebumps before her own victory.
- The scoreboard showed that Ansah broke Julian Reus's eight-year-old German record by two hundredths of a second, a feat that brought goosebumps to Lückenkemper.
- After breaking the 10-second barrier, Ansah dedicated his victory to his father, who had always been his role model and encouraged him to pursue athletics, even when he faced injuries.
- The record-breaking sprint of Owen Ansah at the Olympia stadium in Brunswick, Lower Saxony, has been hailed as a significant chapter in German sports history, with his coach, Sebastian Bayer, expressing his delight.
- Ansah's World Championship-worthy performance at the German Athletics Championships in Braunschweig has qualified him for an individual Olympic start and a relay race, leveraging Germany's strong track and field tradition.
- The German sprinter, Owen Ansah, who trains in Mannheim under European long jump champion Sebastian Bayer, became the first German to run under 10 seconds over the 100 meters, etching his name in German sports history.
