“Nobody tackles the problem”
Ironman Patrick Lange rages after Olympic Games
Not least because of the weak German Olympic yield in Paris, triathlon star Patrick sees long need for action. In his view, Germany can learn something from another nation. Sport, says the Ironman, must finally gain value again.
The two-time Ironman Hawaii winner Patrick Lange is upset about the development of sport in Germany. “Something has to change! We cannot look at the medal mirror every four years and stated every time it goes down,” said Triathlete Lange of the “Frankfurter Rundschau”.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, Germany finished tenth in the medal mirror with 12 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze medals- it is the worst placement since reunification. “Nobody tackles the problem – and that also stimulates me a bit that the sport seems to lose more and more value socially,” said Lange.
Ailing sports halls, slow officials
According to the 37-year-old, the problem begins with physical education at school. “It is the subject that seems least important and often the first thing that is first. Often the sports hall is ailing, there is a lack of equipment. In addition, there is a lack of volunteers in many clubs, whose activity has sometimes become ungrateful. More and more swimming pools are being closed.” The joy of movement is no longer conveyed, Lange said. “I think this whole development is a shame.”
Germany could learn something from the United States. “Many top athletes from all over the world train and live there because the college system offers them the best conditions for world-class performance. Germany urgently need an input for a change if we want to remain a leading sports nation. You can tell that this topic really moves me-and upset!” Said the triathlon star, whom it moved from Hesse to Salzburg a long time ago.
After his career end, it can imagine passing on his experiences for a long time. Everything else, says the 37-year-old, would be “fatal”. But so far, he has not planned the leap into the ranks of the officials and thus decision -makers. “My former coach Faris al-Sultan has learned how difficult changes are. As a pragmatic, dynamic type, everything could be too slow,” said Lange. Al-Sultan was a national triathlon coach between November 2018 and September 2020.
