German record sprinter Ansah racially insulted
On Saturday, Owen Ansah historically wins the 100 meters at the German Championships: However, Ansah, who was the first German sprinter to break the 10-second barrier, is racially insulted afterwards. The German Athletics Association (DLV) is "under attack".
Sprinter Owen Ansah was racially insulted in social media after his historic record-breaking run in the 100 meters at the German Championships - the German Athletics Association (DLV) is therefore considering filing police reports. "We as DLV have always had a clear stance. The DLV stands for diversity. The national team is a clear reflection of our society. And we have a clear zero-tolerance policy", said DLV sports director Jörg Bügner at the end of the German Championships in Braunschweig.
"There is no place for racism, hate speech, exclusion, and xenophobia in athletics, as well as in society as a whole. It should be a strong reminder to us all when we find such comments in such large numbers on the net", said Bügner, who also feels personally attacked and "has no understanding" of "why this still happens in our time".
The DLV will also continue to "do everything we can to remind everyone that athletics is a reflection of society and stands for diversity. And we will do everything we can to protect our athletes", said Bügner.
Ansah had run the 100 meters in a historic 9.99 seconds on Saturday, the first German sprinter under ten seconds. "The German record may be taken away from me again. But the fact that I was the first German to run under ten seconds, that can't be taken away from me", said Ansah: "I'm mega happy." While Ansah took advantage of the perfect weather with plenty of sunshine on Saturday, it rained heavily on Sunday - top performances were therefore hardly possible.
Tearful drama for Vetter
"We have seen beautiful results", said DLV sports director Bügner, but also knew: "In some disciplines, we are not competitive internationally." With Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo, who had to withdraw due to a Coronavirus infection, and decathlon hope Leo Neugebauer, who is preparing for the Olympics in the USA, the "goosebumps moment" (Gina Lückenkemper) from Ansah was the only real highlight of these rather lackluster championships.
But there were also some glimmers of hope. The performances of Kristin Pudenz with the discus (65.93 meters), Julian Weber in the javelin (86.63 meters), or Yemisi Ogunleye with the shot put (19.25 meters) gave courage for the Olympics. But if the German team in Paris is looking for redemption after the historic WM debacle at the Olympics, it will depend on the aces Mihambo and Neugebauer for the medals.
A tearful drama for Johannes Vetter, who saw his Olympic dream in the javelin shattered. The Offenburger, who is the German record holder in the javelin, suffered from pain in his right shoulder and right elbow and could only manage 73.16 meters in Weber's title win (86.63 meters) and finished in sixth place. "We put all our eggs in one basket and unfortunately lost", said Vetter.
Not as planned it went for hindrance-star Gesa Felicitas Krause. The Vice-European champion had to give in to her training partner Olivia Gürth in the duel after 9:46,12 minutes. "She makes training hell for me, without her I would not have been so quickly back in shape again," said Krause about Gürth, who secured her first German title with a strong final sprint in 9:45,01 minutes.
The German Athletics Association (DLV) is considering filing police reports due to racially insulting remarks directed at sprinter Owen Ansah after his historic win at the German Championships. The DLV sports director, Jörg Bügner, strongly condemns racism and xenophobia in both athletics and society, emphasizing that there is no place for such hate speech in the sport.
