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Our #hyloathletes have been putting in strong performances and giving their all once again this week. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
German Gymnastics Federation names Olympic team
At the second Olympic qualifier in Rüsselsheim on Saturday (22/06/2024), Germany’s gymnasts were competing for the remaining few tickets to the upcoming Olympic Games being held in Paris in four weeks’ time. There were five starting places to award for the men, who had already qualified as a team. One women’s space still remained open for the trip to France.
The men’s all-around competition was exciting and tight with emotions running high. Timo Eder of MTV Ludwigsburg ultimately stood at the top of the podium. The bronze medal winner at the first qualifier during the Finals appeared satisfied to be consistently fulfilling his potential and to once again put in a good performance. ‘With his calm style, Timo demonstrated once again today that he can complete clean, solid gymnastics under pressure’, head coach Valeri Belenki noted about the 19-year-old’s performance. Just 0.4 points behind Eder (82,675 points) was Nils Dunkel of SV Halle, in second place. Third place, at half a point less, went to Glenn Trebing of TK Hannover. Saarland gymnasts Maxim Kovalenko (TV Bous) and Daniel Mouschidis (TV Schwalbach) finished in seventh and eleventh, unfortunately leaving them with few prospects of qualifying for the Olympics.
There was one shock in Rüsselsheim when Lukas Dauser of TSV Unterhaching, medal hopeful and world champion on the parallel bars, injured his right arm during a rings routine. Dauser subsequently withdrew from the competition and headed to Mainz for a checkup. We are still awaiting the sports doctor’s results and a precise diagnosis. Head coach Belenki was cautiously optimistic: ‘I am assuming that he is going to make it.’ But added: ‘Nevertheless, we will have a plan B.’ Belenki then announced his picks the day after the competition.
The German Gymnastics Federation has proposed the following gymnasts to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB):
Men
- Pascal Brendel (KTV Wetzlar)
- Lukas Dauser (TSV Unterhaching)
- Nils Dunkel (SV Halle)
- Timo Eder (MTV Ludwigsburg)
- Andreas Toba (TK Hannover)
Milan Hosseini (TG Böckingen), Glenn Trebing (TK Hannover) and Alexander Kunz (TSV Pfuhl) are standing by as alternates.
Among Germany’s female gymnasts, 16-year-old Helen Kevric of MTV Stuttgart won the all-around day competition, with Karina Schönmaier and Lea Marie Quaas in second and third. The eagerly awaited uneven bars faceoff between young Kevric and her club teammate, 30-year-old reigning German champion Elisabeth Seitz, went to the emerging talent. ‘Helen performed amazingly good gymnastics and truly showed nerves of steel’, record-breaking champion Seitz said of her rival’s routine. These points were most likely also crucial for head coach Gerben’s decision when awarding the final Olympics ticket: a few days after the competition, she named Helen Kevric as her proposed addition to take the final spot and join already qualified gymnasts Pauline Schäfer-Betz and Sarah Voss in Paris.
Women
- Helen Kevric (MTV Stuttgart)
- Pauline Schäfer-Betz (KTV Chemnitz)
- Sarah Voss (TZ DSHS Köln)
Elisabeth Seitz (MTV Stuttgart) and Karina Schönmaier (TuS Chemnitz-Altendorf) have been named as alternates.
Two champagne showers and points galore for Team75
Team75 Motorsport, and particularly Robert de Haan, enjoyed a successful weekend of racing in Hungary. The Dutch driver, who celebrated his 18th birthday the day before the first race on the Hungaroring, drove his way to third place on the podium on both days of racing and thus ended the weekend in third in the overall rankings. The Team75 driver was leading the pack in the rookie ratings after the first day of racing, but was beaten by his compatriot Kas Haverkort on the second. This impressive performance by de Haan pushed him further towards Theo Oeverhaus, who is in front of him in third place. He is only six points away from the virtual championship podium.
‘Two podium finishes this weekend, two third places – that’s OK and brought in plenty of points’, de Haan said of his performances on the curve-laden and tyre-destroying Formula One course in the Budapest summer heat. The racing weekend did not go entirely to plan for his team colleague Janne Stiak, but he was still able to gain points for his team. After finishing the first race in seventh place (originally eighth, bumped up to seventh when the driver in sixth was given a time penalty), in the second race he moved up from a starting position of 15 to come in thirteenth. ‘Thirteenth means I collected another few points, and that’s OK, even if I was hoping for a bit more.’
Team boss Jennifer Leising is satisfied with the performances of her drivers and the team as a whole: ‘We earned some valuable points.’ Endurance world champion Timo Bernhard’s team are in a good position with good prospects for the second half of the season, which begins again on 16-18 August at the Nürburgring after a two-month summer break.
Bike Aid – German road race championships in Bad Dürrheim / Donaueschingen
Two hundred kilometres with nearly three thousand metres in altitude were the challenge for the 155-strong field in the road race from Bad Dürrheim to Donaueschingen on 23 June 2024 as part of the 2024 German championships. The circuit through the Black Forest, with countless ascents and narrow local roads in front of an enthusiastic crowd, was shaped by an early attack by a five-strong group that managed to pull away from some of the more experienced riders. The group kept well-known riders such as Simon Geschke and Nils Pollit at bay, as well as Saarland’s professional cycling team BIKE AID and their ten riders, who were behind the main group. Climbing specialist Anton Schiffer, who switched from the BIKE AID development team to the Continental team in 2023, finished in 27th place.
Hornets brave the tornado
The Saarlouis Hornets baseball team took a vital step towards the playoffs at a second division interconference match on 22 June 2024 against the Mannheim Tornados. The young Saarland team were able to show their class against the German record champions from Mannheim with two victories that were never in doubt. 15:4 in the first game, 18:8 in the second – the team from Saarlouis outplayed the experienced team from the Baden-Württemberg capital on the Rhine throughout. This means the Hornets have managed to step up to second place in the Südwest 1 table and are still on course for the playoffs. Their next game day is on 6 July, against the Heidelberg Hedgehogs. GO HORNETS!
30th crown for Michael Ledermann
Michael Ledermann is a Swiss wrestler, an exceptional athlete in this unofficial national Swiss sport that is still largely unknown in Germany. The sport’s closest sibling would doubtless be wrestling, but it differs in that it has a very traditional character with a very extensive set of rules. At the Schwarzsee-Schwinget (‘Schwinget’ or ‘Schwingfest’, meaning ‘wrestling festival’, is the name given to these events) on Sunday 23 June 2024, Ledermann was able to take home a sought-after Schwarzsee crown after six exciting and demanding rounds. This crown is made of oak leaves and is won by 10 to 15 percent of competitors. It is a huge honour to win a crown. The Schwarzsee crown is a particularly important one for Ledermann:
This is a very special crown for me, as it is the thirtieth I have won so far. I am very pleased with the event and grateful to be coming back fit and healthy.
Many congratulations, Michael, on this new success.
Saarland Hurricanes lose to Lions from Braunschweig
Things are juddering somewhat for GFL team the Saarland Hurricanes: the Canes had only chalked up a single win in five games so far this season. Their declared goal for the season, namely to reach the playoffs, is falling farther and farther from reach with every game. The injury-hit team were therefore somewhat under pressure to do well against the New Yorker Lions Braunschweig in Völklingen on 22 June 2024. Unfortunately, this sixth match did not bring their second win. After a promising start to the first quarter, things stopped going to plan for the Hurricanes from the second quarter onwards. The Lions equalised and were able to build a lead in the second half that they retained throughout. The Canes lost their sixth game of the season with a final score of 20:37, slipping into last but one place in the Süd group table.
After a summer break, the Hurricanes are back in front of a home crowd in Völklingen on 20 July 2024 to face current table leaders, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. We hope that the Canes are able to use the upcoming summer break to rejuvenate and reorganise the team so that they can set their sights back on the playoffs for the second half of the season. GO CANES!!!