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Once again, the last week was an eventful one for our #hyloathletes. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
UNEXPECTED TRIUMPH FOR TAREK HAMADEH-SPANIOL AT HOME RALLY
The ADAC Saarland-Pfalz-Rallye on 28 and 29 June 2024 was an event that no-one will forget in a hurry, especially Saarland rally driver Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol. Despite technical difficulties and a series of challenges that continued right up until the start of the first special stage, Tarek managed the pull off an impressive class win.
An engine failure just a week before the event promoted hours of intensive work. Thanks to a generous parts package that Tarek received from a friendly rally team (Andreas Klein), a replacement engine could be built that enabled him to line up at the start of the home race.
The next problems then came during the test run at Thursday lunchtime, when all of the gears suddenly refused to engage. After countless phone calls and exchanging numerous parts that did not 100% fit, the Saarland driver was still able to reach the starting line. Although he initially doubted how far he would manage to get, once again, this sport proved that it sometimes has some incredible stories to tell. Tarek began the weekend with plenty of worry lines: ‘To be honest, I did not think that we would manage to get very far.’
The results over the finishing line in St. Wendel were rather different: Tarek and his co-driver Anna-Lena Mergen totally unexpectedly won all twelve special stages to secure the NC4 class win at this home race. However, this victory would not have been possible without the support of countless friends, who offered spare parts and active help with fitting screws and bolts late into the night.
After three wins in a row, the duo have now risen to second place in the DRM Nationals rankings. There are just two races remaining, the Rallye Stemweder Berg and the Ostsee Rallye, before the championship is awarded.
We look forward to continuing to follow Tarek in his upcoming races and wish him ongoing success.
1. FC SAARBRÜCKEN TISCHTENNIS ENDS STRONG SEASON WITH FINAL DEFEAT
On Sunday (30 June 2024), the Süwag Energie ARENA in Frankfurt was the setting for a thrilling Tischtennis-Bundesliga final for the German Championships. 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis and Borussia Düsseldorf, two giants of table tennis, faced each other in a nail-biting duel. The arena was virtually sold out with 3,000 enthusiastic fans watching the Liebherr TTBL final 2024.
The crucial final matches saw intense rallies and stunning points. Dang Qiu of Borussia Düsseldorf proved to be an insurmountable hurdle for the Saarland team, winning his opening game against Patrick Franziska 3:1 and also taking the final match of the day against Darko Jorgic 3:2. Although Darko Jorgic equalised in the meantime in his duel against table-tennis legend Timo Boll with a memorable, hugely exciting 3:2 victory where he saved seven match points, Cedric Meissner’s defeat by Anton Källberg in the third match of the day meant that this was the only point scored by the team under team captain Patrick Franziska, who was suffering from a thigh injury. Despite a strong performance and tireless fighting spirit, 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis sadly had to accept a 1:3 defeat.
This means that the last three TTBL finals between the two teams have gone to Borussia Düsseldorf. 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis have previously won the German Championships once, in 2020. This was Düsseldorf’s 34th championship win.
Despite their defeat in the TTBL final, 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis can look proudly back at an exceptional season. They dominated the entire season and put in what is most likely their best performance ever in FCS’s Bundesliga history. By winning the Champions League, for the second time this Easter Monday after 2023 and similarly against Borussia Düsseldorf, they showed that they are one of the top teams in Europe.
We are sure that 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis will be coming back even stronger next season to take the German Championship back to Saarbrücken for the second time in the club’s history.
LAST-SIXTEEN END FOR GABRIEL CLEMENS AT THE PDC WORLD CUP OF DARTS 2024
The PDC World Cup of Darts 2024, held from 27 to 30 June at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt am Main, was a hugely exciting and dramatic event. 40 countries competed in this tournament, with two players each. Saarland darts pro Gabriel Clemens and his playing partner Martin Schindler competed for Germany at this professional team darts world championship, seeking to use their home advantage to repeat the previous year’s strong result.
The tournament began with a group stage, where 36 teams faced each other in twelve groups of three. The four best teams qualified directly for the last sixteen. Each game was played as a doubles match, which gave the tournament a unique dynamic.
Clemens and Schindler had a strong start to the tournament and were able to beat New Zealand 4:3 on Thursday evening in an exciting opening match. Clemens clocked up 124 points after 12 darts in the decisive last leg to clinch an acclaimed initial win.
In their second group game, Germany faced Finland and once again won in magnificent form with a score of 4:1. This victory put Germany safely in the last sixteen.
Here, Clemens and Schindler faced the strong Northern Irish team of Josh Rock and Brendan Dolan on Saturday evening. In an exciting game, they sadly had to admit defeat 7:8 and were not able to follow in the national football team’s footsteps, who had secured a ticket to the quarter final on the same evening at the European Football Championships, which were running in parallel. After sensationally reaching the semi-final in 2023, this year’s tournament came to an end for the German team after the last sixteen.
Things continue for Gabriel Clemens on Tuesday and Wednesday (2 and 3 July) with the Players Championship tournaments 13 & 14 in Milton Keynes (GB).
GERMAN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM NAMED
On Saturday (29 June 2024), the national sports base in Fellbach-Schmiden hosted the German Gymnastics Federation’s decisive Olympic qualifier for rhythmic gymnastics. Germany’s top gymnasts competed for the sought-after Olympic tickets in tropical temperatures.
17-year-old Darja Varfolomeev of TSV Schmiden won the second Olympic qualification spot in a race that remained exciting right through to the finish. With 141,500 points, she beat out Margarita Kolosov of SC Potsdam (136,450 points). Varfolomeev thus gained a slightly higher score than her all-around performance at the German Championships.
Margarita Kolosov was also very satisfied with her performance: ‘My competition today went very well, without any losses with any of the four pieces of equipment. And all despite the temperature in the hall being 40 degrees, with extremely stuffy air and a very quick competition.’
The German Gymnastics Federation’s gymnasts had already completed an initial qualifier on 6 June in Frankfurt am Main as part of the Finals before the deciding qualifier in Fellbach-Schmiden. The Federation announced their rhythmic gymnastics team for the Olympic Games in Paris on the day of the final, deciding Olympics qualifier. At head coach Isabell Sawade’s recommendation, the Federation proposed the following gymnasts to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) for the Olympic Games in Paris:
Individual: Darja Varfolomeev (TSV Schmiden), Margarita Kolosov (SC Potsdam). Anastasia Simakova and Viktoria Steinfeld (both TSV Schmiden) are standing by as alternates.
Group: Anja Kosan (SC Siemensstadt), Daniella Kromm (TSV Schmiden), Alina Oganesyan (TSV Schmiden), Hannah Vester (TB 1889 Oppau), Emilia Wickert (TSG Söflingen). The alternate is Melanie Dargel (TG Worms).
It is down to the DOSB to officially nominate the gymnasts, and they will announce the names of the athletes going to Paris after their nomination meeting on 2 July.
GERMAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BRAUNSCHWEIG – JOHANNES VETTER AND DANIEL JASINSKI
The 2024 German Athletics Gymnastics from 28 to 30 June in Braunschweig were a key milestone en route to the Olympic Games in Paris. Sadly, 2017 world javelin champion Johannes Vetter and 2016 Olympic discus bronze medallist Daniel Jasinski did not manage to do enough to secure a ticket to Paris.
With 62.17 m on his second attempt, Jasinski managed the third-best throw of the day to gain the bronze medal, but still fell below the Olympic benchmark required to secure a last-minute ticket to Paris.
Johannes Vetter, who has been repeatedly plagued by physical issues, was also competing in the hope of using his final chance of gaining an Olympic ticket. But despite his efforts and his tireless fighting spirit, he was unable to achieve the direct benchmark of 85.50 metres for the Games in Paris. He finished in sixth place with a distance of 73.16 metres.
Vetter struggled with problems in his taped-up elbow during the competition. Another operation will be inevitable. Despite his disappointment over missing out on the Olympics, Johannes has determined to continue fighting. He is convinced that he has enough in the tank to get back to achieving good distances. We wish Johannes Vetter plenty of strength and patience on his path back to the top, as well as much health and success.
Come back stronger, Jojo!
MICHAEL LEDERMANN SECURES ANOTHER CROWN
At the Bernjurassische Schwingfest in Raimeux (CH) on Sunday (30 June 2024), with more than 5000 spectators, 23-year-old Swiss wrestler Michael Ledermann was once again able to clinch a crown.
Having won three rounds and drawn another three, the Swiss wrestler from Schwingclub Schwarzenburg gained a total score of 56.75 points and was one of 22 crown winners in the total of 141 participants.
Ledermann is now looking forward to a brief break to recover before heading to Rigi for the Rigi Schwing- und Älplerfest 2024 in two weeks!
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.