Olympic fencing champion Britta Heidemann and sports manager Michael Mronz are, along with President Thomas Bach, the only two German members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As such, you are among the highest representatives of international sport and were guests at the Ball des Sports in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Ask: Together at the Ball des Sports – what is there to celebrate in German sport right now?
Michael Mronz: I let the lady go first.
Britta Heidemann: The Sports Ball is one of the largest balls we have with well over 1000 guests. You meet so many people from business, sport, politics and the media. What is most important, however, is that Sporthilfe generates a lot of money with the sports ball. For all athletes, it is simply the bank from which money is constantly available and which you can rely on.
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Ask: Does Germany have too few resources compared to other countries to be really successful in the long term?
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Heidemann: It’s always a question of consideration. Germany probably has one of the most programs, assistance and support offers for athletes in the world. Now also in post-career support, during the transition from sport to work. Then there is the sports support group, sports aid, state foundations, clubs, sponsors. However, this diversity means there is a lack of a uniform, sensible financing system. I think it would be better if financial flows could be made more efficient. In the sense that every athlete receives something from a common pool, graded according to performance and needs.
Mronz: Britta looks at top-class sport here. But then there is also club sport, and that is the basis for top-class sport. After the DOSB very successfully launched the “ReStart” program last year with financial support from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to get people back into sports clubs after Corona, the clubs now have record numbers of members. Unfortunately, this program has been discontinued due to a lack of funds. There has been a renovation backlog in the clubs for a long time, and sports halls are repeatedly used as urgently needed refugee accommodation. When we talk about the fact that society is also suffering from a lack of exercise, we unfortunately also have to say: It is easier to download an e-game at home than to go to a sports hall to do sports because it is dilapidated or occupied. So you can criticize some results in top-class sport, but at the same time you have to look at what the cause is.
Gold celebration: Britta Heidemann is crowned Olympic champion in Beijing in 2008
Quelle: picture-alliance/dpa/Anatoly Maltsev
Ask: The Olympics are about faster, higher, stronger and ultimately gold, silver, bronze. Society seems to be increasingly moving away from this idea of performance in sport, right?
Mronz: If in Germany there are no longer certificates of honor at federal youth games, i.e. no presentable recognition of achievements, but only certificates of participation, then this could be an outgrowth that is specific to Germany. In the rest of the world, competitive sport, performance and success are viewed and evaluated completely differently. An athlete can only be a role model if he is successful.
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Ask: If you were to give a grade: Where does German sport stand overall?
Heidemann: It is clear that we have lost medals in recent years and I expect the trend to continue.
Ask: Why?
Heidemann: When I listen to sport, something has changed a bit in terms of the basic attitude of the youth, the athletes and perhaps also the current generation of parents. I believe that you are taking an incredible amount away from young people when you say: performance, getting involved in something is not that important. You don’t always have to win, but you have to do your best. The fact that you get the best out of yourself, but also put in something and work in a disciplined manner, and that this gives you a good feeling, is at least discussed in our society. If everyone is told that you are all equally good, if you don’t reward the better ones – then you have less drive. And for peak performance you need endurance, discipline and inner fire.
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Ask: And the school grade for German sport?
Mronz: At this point I would say: grade 3.
Ask: Does Germany have to apply for the Olympics in order to trigger new investments in top-class sport and funding programs?
Mronz: In any case, a lot of things are easier if you apply because then you have the focus to really stick with it. When you declare a goal, it is easier to rally behind it and decide and implement the necessary steps.
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Ask: Recently, applications also failed due to the skepticism of the population. Is it possible to survive the Olympics economically as a host country?
Mronz: The best contract I would make would be: I and Britta get one euro for organizing the games, but in return we have a stake in the result. Organizing the Olympic Games is at least a plus-minus-zero business these days. What is often done wrong is that infrastructure costs are included that would also be due without games. If you create a sustainable usage concept, new competition venues won’t just be built for the games – they’ll just be built faster. We have long been able to organize the Olympic Games in such a way that simply holding them does not cost taxpayers a cent.
Ask: What do you expect from the German athletes at the Olympics in Paris this summer?
Heidemann: I hope that being close to your home country will help many people achieve success and provide additional motivation. Also to really get into it in the last few months beforehand. But of course you can’t expect that performances will suddenly shoot from fifth place to gold just because it’s around the corner.
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Ask: Does Germany need this sports and medal euphoria as a country?
Heidemann: Absolutely. We complain a lot and feel like everything is going downhill. A more positive basic mood would be good for us in all areas of society. The upcoming Euro and the Olympic Games in Paris can be a good catalyst for this.
The interview was conducted for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT BILD, BILD) and first published in BILD AM SONNTAG.