- Heartbreak as Dauser leaves the big stage
The heart ached more than the bruised upper arm, the mind was empty: Turn World Champion Lukas Dauser leaves the international stage without the desired glorious Olympic exit. An error that had never happened before cost the 31-year-old the possible medal at the Paris Summer Games. With 13.700 points, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist finished a disappointing seventh in the high-class horizontal bar final.
"It's quite bitter," the sad Unterhachinger admitted in the catacombs of the Arena Bercy. "Above all, the heart hurts the most. I couldn't get into my competitive mode." "It's extremely bitter," Dauser repeated, who had injured himself in preparation for Paris. "Of course, I would have wished for a happy ending, just to turn a beautiful routine. Too bad. Not everyone can have a happy ending, even though I don't like stories without one," he said. "There's quite a bit of emptiness in my head."
After gathering himself for a few hours, Germany's Sportsman of the Year announced the end of his international career in Paris. "International - European Championships, World Championships, Olympic Games - that's the last time we've seen Lukas here," said the 31-year-old Unterhachinger in an interview with the TV station Eurosport. "In the last few weeks and months, I've made the decision that this was my last major international competition," he also explained later in ZDF.
Praise for the physiotherapist's dedication
His pre-Olympic story is one of a muscle bundle tear in the right biceps, which he suffered 44 days before his horizontal bar final. That he was able to compete in Paris at all was, according to Germany's Sportsman of the Year 2023, a miracle. "Big kudos to Cyrus for pulling it off. That's incredible," said national coach Valeri Belenki about the physiotherapist Cyrus Salehi's dedication.
While his arm didn't cause any problems, the injury affected his preparation. Because he couldn't train and automate his routine enough, he made a mistake that had never happened before. On the element called Tsolakidis, he lost his balance and hit his leg on the left pommel. "That mistake has never happened to me on that element," Dauser admitted, "after that, I knew it was over. The rest wasn't that bad."
His coach Hubert Brylok in Halle/Saale had only one thought at that moment: "Shit! That hurt like hell. The emotional pain was greater than the one on the pommel. For both of us." Together with his protégé, they had worked tirelessly towards this final day, overcoming the handicap of the muscle injury. "We know what he's invested in the last few weeks. It's already bordering on madness how he's pushed himself, fought to get back. That was madness," the coach reported.
It was unclear immediately after the competition how long Brylok would still have Dauser under his wing. However, it was already clear at that point that the horizontal bar world champion would not compete at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "I won't do four more years," he announced. After Paris, he plans to finish the Bundesliga season and compete at the Swiss Cup.
Proud of his career and future father
Still in the hall, the 31-year-old said he wanted to decide by the end of the year whether to end his career or continue at least until the upcoming European Championships in Leipzig. "It's an incentive, but not much more," he said initially, then added: "I've achieved a lot in my career, and I'm already very proud of that. I'm very disappointed that it didn't work out today."
His change of heart was explained by the fact that he hadn't been ready immediately after the competition to announce his retirement from international competition. "I don't know why, maybe because I was excited, a bit disappointed with the performance," Dauser said.
Dauser is set to become a father for the first time in September. "The due date is the 20th. It's a boy," he revealed. He and his wife Victoria have chosen a name, but he wasn't ready to share it. "New challenges await me, and I'm incredibly excited," he said.
As Dauser approached his ultimately botched routine on the parallel bars, Chinese gymnast Zou Jingyuan had just concluded his outstanding performance with a score of 16.200, winning gold, as he did in 2021 in Tokyo. Silver went to Ukrainian Illia Kovtun with 15.500 points. Bronze was won by Japanese team and all-around Olympic champion Shinnosuke Oka with 15.300 points.
"I'm not sure if I'll participate in the upcoming European Championships in Leipzig," Dauser pondered, still processing his performance in Paris. "I'm not sure how my retirement from international competition will impact my family's plans, especially with the upcoming birth of our son in September."
