Olympic champion Harting calls for reform in German athletics

Olympic star Harting says shortly before the start of the games: “Performance has become so degenerate in our country that we have to be ashamed”.

Former discus thrower Robert Harting sees a need for reform in German athletics. He is ready to work on a new start, as the results of the last major championships were rather disappointing.

“At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, there were three German athletics medals – gold for long jumper Malaika Mihambo, silver for Kristin Pudenz (discus throw) and Jonathan Hilbert (50 km walk). Last year, there was nothing at the World Championships in Budapest. And at the European Championships in Rome – the results were solid – you could see that the athletes just need to feel that people believe in them.

So what can we expect for the Paris Games this summer? If the medal table is any indication of success, I would be very surprised if we did much better than we have at the last few major Olympic events – although I would of course be delighted if I were wrong.
I think that we will not really reach the bottom of the sporting situation until 2028. That would be another four years before everyone really understands that it is time for profound macro changes.”

Young people must be taught the principle of performance

Robert Harting reminds: As in every area of ​society, in sport too, young people must be taught the principle of performance.

“At the moment, German athletics, in its overall structure, is at the same level as Olympic sport in general. I believe that we are pursuing an ideological policy that prioritizes minorities and weaknesses, rather than promoting excellence and achievement. While this is morally welcome and should be appreciated in principle, caring for the weak must not exclude the possibility of supporting the strongest.

Performance has almost become something to be ashamed of. If we now want to abolish the evaluations at the national youth games, for example, I think that is going in the wrong direction. As in every area of ​​society, in sport too, we need to teach young people the principle of performance, we need to set an example and show society as a whole the meaning of the positive changes that people experience as a result of sport.

Because it is often not the most talented who have the greatest success, but those who work the hardest for it. Achievement has almost become something we should be ashamed of if we talk about it on the street. Who says these days that we want to be the best?”

Harting continues to point out another aspect: “A gold medal at the Olympics is rewarded with 20,000 euros, while the European Championship title in football is rewarded with 400,000 euros.

Sport brings people together and creates economic opportunities. It triggers the development of a sports-related economy. We see this in the USA, for example. There, companies invest in sport in order to get into the communities. From a brand perspective – and I work with athletes and brands – this kind of community branding is extremely important.

I think the sports economics that exist in football are missing in athletics. A gold medal at the Olympics is rewarded with 20,000 euros, whereas the European Championship title in football is rewarded with 400,000 euros. This is of course explained by the economic success of football: where there is money, the reward rates for athletes increase exponentially.”

It is time for a change!

The former Olympic discus throw champion continue to share: “We can be happy that there is funding for athletics at all. But the fact is that 60 to 70 percent of the funding we have is spent on the administrative and support systems in competitive sports, such as sports federations, management organizations. These structures demonstrably no longer produce medals in athletics.

What needs to be done? We need to streamline the apparatus, digitalise it and introduce performance parameters at the level of sports management. I would be willing to work to bring about change in German athletics. It would be best to tackle this as a team, with a dual leadership or triumvirate. One thing is clear: it is time for a change in sports too.”