Some are working feverishly on a comeback, others are copying their 2008 olympic plans for defending their title. Around 200 days of preparation time remain for the heroes from august 2008, when weightlifter matthias steiner& co. The fans were in for a real treat. Long but not all starting tickets are drawn.
Gold colossus steiner, whose tragic life story with the death of his wife susann moved the people at the olympic games in peking, must once again show his rough fighter heart on the way to london. After tearing the quadriceps tendon in his left leg, the world championships in november in paris took place without him, but olympic participation "is very realistic," steiner emphasized. "This is a real challenge for me."
Double olympic champion britta steffen also had to contend with health problems after peking – and then the first international long-track competition, the world championships in shanghai in summer 2011, went pear-shaped. Escape-like and disappointed she fell in love three years after the gold-coup china, felt "embarrassment, weakness and shame". Now she is back on track, most recently winning three gold medals at the short course european championships in stettin. "If i come through healthy, i can be the super-britta again," she said, staking out her path for london.
Soccer and basketball players won’t be at the olympics, but the field hockey boys want to win a medal again. In peking, they danced on tables and benches in the german house, and in london, the european champion is also a favorite. "We know that an olympic victory depends on many factors. But the goal is of course a medal, that’s clear," said coach markus weise.
Gold medals from the german canoeists are a firm favourite. Andreas ihle/martin hollstein paddled in the kayak double over 1000 meters in the following years repeatedly like in the gold days from the shunyi park – and in the women’s quad since the 1996 olympics is a bank anyway. It remains to be seen whether, after the retirement of peking-olympia winner fanny fischer, her aunt, record-olympionic birgit fischer, will take the place in the boat. In any case, she is pursuing a return plan. After the birth of her son emil in the summer of 2011, katrin wagner-augustin, flag-bearer of the closing ceremony in beijing, is also paddling for her comeback in a strong team.
Wins in the dressage arena were once just as certain, but the german team will have to make an effort to catch up there. Nadine appelmann and heike kemmer, who were part of the german gold team in 2008, have no suitable horses for london. Isabell werth was the only member of this trio who was allowed to participate this year. In the eventers, double olympic champion hinrich romeike has only minimal hope that his gray horse marius will get back into shape in time to qualify for london. Overall, however, the german eventers have established themselves among the world’s top riders. At the european championships at home, they won as a team and took all three individual medals.
Olympic fencing champion britta heidemann’s participation in london is questionable after her first-round exit and 126th place at the 2011 world championships. Benjamin kleibrink, who was out of action for a long time after a motorcycle accident, experienced a kind of rebirth at these title competitions in the team competition. He hopes to make it to the 2012 olympics via the team classification.
Slalom canoeist alexander grimm and judoka ole bischof won the first two gold medals in peking. On the way to defending their title, they still have to assert themselves against partly very strong national competition.
Radio competitor lena schoneborn can dream of a second olympic gold medal, because the 25-year-old has established herself among the world’s best. After highs and lows, triathlete jan frodeno has secured his ticket for 2012. To succeed in london, he is relying on the same program that made him so strong before beijing. At the proud age of 40, cyclist sabine spitz wants to try again in london, but the medal range seems to be some distance away. The comeback after two operations due to muscular problems was not easy for her, although in 2010 and 2011 she again won national titles and two runner-up world championships in mountain bike marathons.