Dieter Baumann: Athletics threatens to lose young people!
Dieter Baumann: Athletics threatens to lose young people!
The former Olympic champion Dieter Baumann has suffered alarming criticism of the current athletics landscape in a new interview before his 60th birthday. Baumann, who is known for his success as a long-distance runner, especially for his gold medal in the 5000-meter run at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, is concerned about the aging in the ranks of the competition organizers, supervisors and judges. According to Baumann, you often meet judges who already worked in his active time. In his opinion, this situation illustrates that there is an urgent need for rejuvenation in these areas. Baumann also calls on the German Athletics Association (DLV) to adapt its regulations to the current circumstances to ensure the implementation of competitions. In view of his own experience, he criticizes the current point system of the International Association World Athletics, which forces athletes to attend broadly traveled events in China. This system requires a budget of $ 250,000 for such meetings and ensures additional financial burdens that have led to a worrying decrease in sports festival culture, especially in Germany.
criticism of the current performance situation
Baumann has only sporadically pursued the current performance athletics and therefore cannot get a comprehensive picture. However, he expresses concerns about the lack of financial means to send athletes to China, which could affect the competitiveness of German athletes. This development is particularly questionable against the background of the poor placement of Germany in the medal mirror at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, where Germany took tenth place with only 12 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze medals- the worst result since reunification. These figures raise questions about the effectiveness of sports funding, which is considered in need of reform by the Athlete Germany Association.
According to the reports of Tagesschau.de , the study of the institute of German economy has increased in the past ten years. The inefficient and bureaucratic orientation of sports promotion is criticized by leading athletes. Canoe Olympic champion Max Rendschmidt and Tom Liebscher-Lucz have expressed the wish that politicians make decisions for sport to improve the framework conditions.
look at the future of athletics
The need for a movement from bottom to top in athletics that Baumann warns is reinforced by the situation in promoting young talent and in the coaching area. The DLV received over 30 million euros in funding between 2021 and 2023, but was only able to achieve four medals in Paris. This lack of success illustrates that the distribution of the funds and the concepts of promoting young talent must be reconsidered.
With a view of the Olympic Games of the Future, the question arises: How can Germany build on old success again? Baumann’s criticism is not only a wake -up call to the DLV, but also to the entire sports landscape in Germany in order to work together on solutions and revive athletics. His demands and observations could make a decisive contribution to improving the situation in top German sport.
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| Ort | Blaustein, Deutschland |
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