German Athletes Feel the Pressure of Olympic Gold
Swimmer Britta Steffen and gymnast Fabian Hambuechen feel the burden of the whole country as both look to give Germany Olympic gold in glamour sports at the Beijing Games.
"I am torn, everybody has expectations of me which I may not be able to meet," the 100m freestyle European record holder Steffen told DPA news agency. Germany's medals for a top placing in the medal table normally come from sports such as canoeing, rowing, fencing, equestrian and shooting - and not so much the big three of athletics, swimming and gymnastics. "We will hopefully be helped by the sports in which we have traditionally been strong, such as canoeing or riding," said German Olympic Committee (DOSB) general director Michael Vesper. Germany came sixth in the Athens 2004 medal table with 13 gold medals, 16 silver and 20 bronze. Its overall score of 49 medals was good enough for joint fourth place with Australia, with the US leading the table with 36-39-27 medals and the overall list with 102 medals. "We want to achieve a good result, finish at the same level as in our sixth-place finish in Athens, or even move up one position," said the DOSB's vice president, Eberhard Gienger. The German team of around 450 athletes also features table tennis ace Timo Boll, who hopes to scare the hosts at their number one sport. Other bright lights Canoeing 2004 champion Andreas Dittmer, dressage star Isabelle Werth, the men's field hockey and handball teams are also major medal hopes. Steffen, meanwhile, rose to stardom with four golds and one silver at the 2006 European championships although she had to settle for a bronze and a silver at the 2007 worlds. Now the 24-year-old is hoping to deliver Germany's first swim gold since 1992, in the 50m or 100m freestyle races. "I am so scared to finish the 100m in second place and not to be happy with it. I don't even know if I could be happy with gold because that result would only confirm the expectations," Steffen said. Hambuechen won world championship gold for Germany on the horizontal bar, all-around silver and team bronze. The diminutive 20-year-old, known as the "gymnastics professor," now hopes to cap his career in Beijing and said he will be not be to the forefront when it comes to criticism of China over human rights and other issues. "I have a critical view of the political situation in China but at the Olympics in Beijing I will only think about my competition," said Hambuechen, the German Sportsman of the Year in 2007.
German
Olympic Gold
Olympic_medal Olympic_Gold_(video_game) Tennis_at_the_Summer_Olympics Ice_hockey_at_the_Olympic_Games Gold_medal Badminton_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics Football_at_the_Summer_Olympics Athletics_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_–_Women's_20_kilometres_walk Tennis_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_doubles Tennis_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics Table_tennis_at_the_Summer_Olympics 1994_Winter_Olympics Ice_hockey_at_the_1994_Winter_Olympics Ice_hockey_at_the_2006_Winter_Olympics Olympic_Games Athletics_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_triple_jump
Swimmer
Britta Steffen
Britta_Steffen
gymnast
Fabian Hambuechen
Fabian_Hambüchen
Germany
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Olympic gold
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Beijing Games
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European
record holder
Steffen
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DPA
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Germany
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German Olympic Committee
German_Olympic_Sports_Confederation
DOSB
German_Olympic_Sports_Confederation
general director
Michael Vesper
Germany
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Athens 2004
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Australia
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US
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Athens
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DOSB
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vice president
Eberhard Gienger
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German
table tennis ace
Timo Boll
Timo_Boll
Canoeing 2004
champion
Andreas Dittmer
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Steffen
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2006 European championships
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2007 worlds
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Germany
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1992
Steffen
Britta_Steffen Zack_Steffen Renato_Steffen Steffen_Deibler Steffen Steffen_Tigges Will_Steffen Horst_Steffen Cerro_Steffen Steffen_Glacier Steffen_Thoresen Albert_Steffen
Hambuechen
Germany
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Beijing
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China
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China
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Olympics
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Beijing
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Hambuechen
German Sportsman of the Year
2007
Olympic Gold
Olympic_medal
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