Olympic Games - Berlin Olympic athletes bid farewell to Paris
18 days before the beginning of the Olympic Games in Paris, the Berliners have been bid farewell. "You are already making our city proud with your performances," said Joe Chialo (CDU), Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, at the Berliner Sparkasse event center at the Großen Wannsee in place of the governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), "The best only happens with passion, engagement, and joy. We will be with you every step of the way."
Over 80 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the capital city are part of Team Germany and are participating in 18 Olympic and nine Paralympic sports. The youngest Berliner is para-swimmer Johanna Döhler, who is only 15 years old. The two-year older skateboarder Lilly Stoephasius is the youngest Berliner Olympic participant, having already taken part in the Olympics in Tokyo 2021 for the second time. After finishing 9th in Japan and narrowly missing the final, she wants to reach the last eight in Paris. "That would be a dream. I won't promise a medal, but it could happen," Stoephasius said.
The oldest Berliner representative is table tennis player Xiaona Shan from TTC Berlin Eastside. The 41-year-old won silver in 2016. Among the Paralympic participants, the cycling duo Thomas Ulbricht and Robert Förstemann, both 38 years old, are the oldest. Their ambitions are not dampened. "I estimate our medal chances at 90%. As a team, we have good chances," Ulbricht said, who is competing in his fifth Paralympic Games and won silver in the pentathlon in 2008 in Beijing and bronze over 100 meters in 2016.
- Despite being 15 years old, para-swimmer Johanna Döhler from Berlin is among the 80 Olympic and Paralympic athletes representing Team Germany in Paris.
- At the Wannsee in Berlin, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion Joe Chialo (CDU) wished good luck to Berlin's athletes, representing Germany at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
- Kai Wegner (CDU), the governing Mayor of Berlin, was unable to attend the farewell event, but his sentiments were beautifully conveyed by Senator Chialo.
- Lilly Stoephasius, the 17-year-old Berliner skateboarder, is eager to improve on her 9th place finish in Tokyo 2021 and reach the last eight at the Paris Olympic Games.
- Although table tennis player Xiaona Shan from TTC Berlin Eastside is the oldest Berliner representative at 41 years old and will be competing in her fifth Paralympic Games, she remains optimistic about her medal chances in Paris.
