Athletics - Mihambo comeback: "First competition is always difficult"
Germany's athletics star Malaika Mihambo has set her comeback plan for the Olympic season. The 29-year-old will compete again for the first time in over six months at the indoor meeting in Dortmund on January 20. The two-time world champion had to prematurely end the last world championship season after suffering a torn muscle fiber at the beginning of July.
"The first competition after a long break is always difficult. The body is not used to the high intensity, and a competition jump is something completely different to a training jump," coach Ulli Knapp told the German Press Agency.
After the season opener in Dortmund, Mihambo's schedule includes the Istaf competitions on February 4 in Düsseldorf and February 23 in Berlin. In between, she wants to win her next title at the German Indoor Championships in Leipzig. The World Indoor Championships from March 1 to 3 in Glasgow are not on the agenda.
"We haven't planned an international indoor highlight because we want to prepare even more intensively for the outdoor season with two highlights," said Knapp. "We want to lay a broad foundation and build on this to develop our initial form at the European Championships in Rome. We then want to reach absolute top form towards the Olympics." The European Championships will take place in Rome from June 7 to 12. The Olympic Games in Paris will follow from July 26 to August 11.
"When Malaika is healthy, she always wants to compete for the medals. That was the case in the past, and it will be the same in 2024," said Knapp. Following Mihambo's injury in July, the coach and his athlete adapted the training program slightly. "I have set a new training focus in the area of strength training and now do strength units three times a week instead of twice," Mihambo told the German Press Agency.
An initial success has been achieved. "The last measured values are a good deal better than a year ago," reported Knapp after the training camp in South Africa during Advent. "We carried out our first technical sessions there. That looked very good."
Mihambo was unable to compete at last year's World Championships in Budapest after winning the 2019 and 2022 World Championships and the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. "I'm swimming in a bit of a void after the World Championships season ended prematurely," said Mihambo. The athlete from LG Kurpfalz is the biggest medal hope of the German track and field athletes for the Summer Games.
Info Mihambo successes Athlete portrait at the federation
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- Malaika Mihambo, the German athletics star, will return to competition at the indoor meeting in Dortmund on January 20, marking her first outing in over six months.
- Following her debut in Dortmund, Mihambo's schedule includes the Istaf competitions on February 4 in Düsseldorf and February 23 in Berlin.
- The two-time world champion's ambition is to win the German Indoor Championships in Leipzig before the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1 to 3, but she has not planned to participate in the latter.
- Ulli Knapp, Mihambo's coach, mentioned that they want to prepare extensively for the outdoor season, aiming for two highlights before the European Championships in Rome, where they hope to lay a strong foundation for the Olympic Games in Paris.
- The World Athletics Championships in July 2024 in Paris marks Mihambo's next significant competition, as she eyes another opportunity to compete at the pinnacle of global athletics and defend her Olympic title.
- Knapp highlighted that when Mihambo is healthy, she always targets medals, as demonstrated in her previous competitive seasons, including winning the 2019 and 2022 World Championships and the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
- Even though she was unable to compete at last year's World Championships in Budapest due to her injury, Mihambo remains Germany's biggest medal hope for the Summer Games in Paris and beyond.
Source: www.stern.de
