2023-10-02 17:33:31
Despite a courageous performance at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, the Olympic ticket for the German gymnasts is in danger.
At the World Championships in Antwerp, the quintet of the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) is in tenth place before the last qualifying round on Monday evening (October 2nd, 2023) and has to speculate that at most one team will pass.
Personnel weakened by the failures of German record champion Elisabeth Seitz from Stuttgart (torn Achilles tendon) and Emma Malewski from Chemnitz (foot operation), both of whom were cheering in the stands at the Sportpaleis, the jump start was quite successful. National coach Gerben Wiersma’s protégés also did well on the uneven bars.
Gymnastics World Championships 2023 in Antwerp: Pauline Schäfer-Betz convinces
On the balance beam, however, the first major uncertainties began to creep in, but former world champion Pauline Schäfer-Betz could be relied on. She crowned her exercise with the shepherd’s somersault and collected an important 14,066 points.
The woman from Chemnitz should therefore reach the apparatus final on Sunday. At the rather unpopular ground, the continued difficult starting position was at least maintained.
At DTB you have to tremble
But the athletes left the interior with questioning faces. You have to tremble. In the penultimate round, Japan passed Germany.
At the end, the favorite athletes from China and France go to the equipment. Only the first twelve teams ultimately qualify.
“I’m extremely proud,” said team spokeswoman Sarah Voss afterwards in an interview with SWR Sport: “We can’t blame ourselves, we had the most mixed preparation you could ever imagine.”
Voss: “Grown even more together as a team”
Voss himself had recently been struggling with a foot injury, “which may even require surgery” – as well as an arm injury sustained shortly after the finals. However, all the setbacks allowed the gymnasts to “grow even more together as a team”.
“We didn’t have any big mistakes in our ranking, we didn’t have any crashes. Of course we left a few tenths behind in one place or another, a few points could have been better. But the other nations also had their mistakes,” said Voss.
DTB trainer Wiersma: “Working in a new reality”
“There was a huge amount of pressure on the girls, I’m proud of them,” summarized national coach Wiersma: “They didn’t disappoint at all, they had to work in a new reality after our failures.”
Stuttgart
The top German gymnast Elisabeth Seitz from Stuttgart is seriously injured and has to cancel the start of the World Cup in three weeks.
Tue.5.9.2023 12:00 p.m. SWR Aktuell at midday SWR Aktuell
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