- "Performance does not count": Olympic winners criticize Scholz
The two kayak Olympic champions Max Rendschmidt and Tom Liebscher-Lucz have sharply criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to the Olympic Games. "It's not important that politicians are only here for the next election result, but that family and friends are here," Rendschmidt told the German editorial network. "He should make decisions for the sport. The love for sport is always discovered when there are medals."
His teammate from the gold-winning four, Liebscher-Lucz, spoke to the Chancellor for minutes at the Stade nautique in Vaires-sur-Marne. "I would like to see him not only at the Olympics, but also at a World Championship or German Championship. Instead, our funding is further cut when we celebrate successes," said Liebscher-Lucz. The Dresden native had won gold in the four with Rendschmidt and the Potsdamers Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke. They finished fifth in the double.
Financially, the missed second Olympic victory in Paris can be endured. "There's only one gold prize. Only the highest medal counts. Double performance doesn't count in Germany," said Rendschmidt. There is a 20,000 Euro gold prize.
Scholz's presence "irrelevant"
Scholz had visited the canoeing competitions with his wife Britta Ernst. That the Chancellor was sitting in the tribune was "irrelevant" to Rendschmidt. With five Olympic golds, the Essen native is the most successful German canoeist at summer games.
Rendschmidt took his missed fifth gold in stride. "You can't always win, you have to accept that others are better," said the 30-year-old. His thanks went especially to national coach Arndt Hanisch, who "has sacrificed a lot of sweat, blood, and probably sleepless nights in the last years."
Despite their Olympic victories, Max Rendschmidt and Tom Liebscher-Lucz expressed disappointment about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's focus on political gains during the Olympics. Rendschmidt wished for Scholz's interest in sports to extend beyond the Olympics, to events like World Championships and German Championships, where funding often gets cut despite their successes.
