11.08.2002

Flash-Interviews vom letzten EM-Tag

Matt. Strauss

Trotz des regnerischen Wetters sammelten wir auch heute wieder die interessantesten Stimmen direkt aus dem Münchner Olympiastadion.

Michael May (5000 Meter):
"Ich hatte letzte Woche eine leichte Erkältung und habe das noch immer in den Knochen. Bis zur Hälfte lief es eigentlich ganz gut, dann haben die Top-Leute das Tempo angezogen. Ich bin noch ein junger Athlet, im Langstreckenlauf braucht man einige Jahre Erfahrung, um das Tempo mitgehen zu können. Ich setzte aber jetzt alles auf die Karte Sport."

Michael Möllenbeck (Diskus):
"Das waren eher Wasserspiele als Diskuswerfen. Dass der Sieger trotzdem 68,83 Meter geworfen hat, ist schon beachtlich. Es war schmierig und glatt. Zwei Würfe sind komplett in die Hose gegangen. Bei solchen Bedingungen wirft man eher verhalten. Bis Athen 2004 möchte ich auf jeden Fall noch weitermachen, wenn ich gesund bleibe, vielleicht auch noch länger."

Grit Breuer (4x400 Meter Staffel):
"Die überraschenden Siege sind immer die Schönsten. Ich hatte die Russin auf der letzten Runde als Favoritin betrachtet. Durch meine ganze Erfahrung bin ich taktisch klug gelaufen."

Birgit Rockmeier (4x400 Meter Staffel):
"Ich war gut auf meine Gegnerinnen eingestellt. Für mich sind die 400 Meter immer noch sehr anstrengend, weil es das erste Jahr ist, das ich sie laufe."

Ingo Schultz (4x400 Meter Staffel):
"Die Sache mit Jens ist sehr schade, wir haben uns so auf eine Medaille gefreut, dann dieses Missgeschick. Ich habe es aber nicht ganz sehen können. Es war mein fünftes Rennen in sechs Tagen, am Ende hat die Kraft gefehlt."

Jens Dautzenberg (4x400 Meter Staffel):
"Der Pole hat versucht in der Mitte durchzugehen, was normalerweise auch OK ist. Man sieht aber auf den Fernsehbildern ganz deutlich wie er mir voll in den Rücken schlägt. Ich ärgere mich total und mache mir ein wenig Vorwürfe, aber es war keine Dummheit von mir, sondern unfaires Verhalten seitens des Polen. Ein Protest nützt jetzt aber auch nicht viel."

Ronny Ostwald (4x100 Meter):
"Wir hatten schon vor eine Medaille zu gewinnen, es hat heute aber leider nicht gereicht. Wir haben früh gewechselt und hätten das vielleicht noch etwas weiter ausreizen sollen."

Marc Blume (4x100 Meter):
"Wir waren auf Bronze aus, müssen aber gestehen, dass die anderen sehr gut gelaufen sind. Jetzt müssen wir erst mal die Videoaufzeichnungen analysieren, vorher kann man nichts sagen."

Kathryn Holinski (High-jump):
"Man hat gesehen, das alle zwei Meter Springerinnen bei diesen Bedingungen nicht sehr gut gesprungen sind. Man kann sich nicht hinlegen, die Beine nicht ausstrecken, sitzt die ganze Zeit eingequetscht auf der Bank und alles ist nass. Wenn die Latte bei meinem dritten Versuch über 1,92 Meter liegengeblieben wäre, hätte ich die Bronzemedaille gewonnnen. Manchmal hat man Glück, manchmal eben nicht. Nächste Woche will ich in Hamburg meinen ersten Juniorentitel gewinnen."

Nils Schumann (800 Meter):
"Direkt nach dem Rennen war es schon etwas ärgerlich, aber Wilson und André waren im Endspurt etwas stärker. Letzte Woche hatte ich eine Erkältung und konnte kaum trainieren. Ich habe heute keinen Fehler gemacht, es war ein sehr interessantes Rennen und ich habe viel dazugelernt. Das ist meine erste Bronzemedaille und die war schwer erkämpft. Mein Ziel ist es insgesamt konstanter zu werden und weniger Ausfälle zu haben."

Andre Bucher (800 Meter):
"Jeder bestätigt mir, dass ich etwas großes geleistet habe. Das ist richtig. Zehn Wochen Trainingsrückstand waren für mich natürlich nicht förderlich .Die erste langsame Runde war genau nach meinem Geschmack. Ich bin schon gespannt, was am Freitag im Letzigrund passieren wird."

4x100 Meter Staffel:
Melanie Paschke:"Wir haben das ganze Jahr auf Gold gehofft und im ersten Moment ist die Enttäuschung groß, obwohl ich eigentlich zufrieden bin. Ein Vize-Europameisterschaftstitel ist ja auch etwas wert.
Allerdings bringt mich die Nervosität noch irgendwann ins Grab."
Gabi Rockmeier: "Das ist sicherlich meine letzte EM und deshalb wollte ich zum Abschluss noch mal Gold, aber es hat leider nicht geklappt."
Marion Wagner: "Hurtis ist fantastisch gelaufen, das muss man anerkennen. Eigentlich liegt hinten raus meine Stärke, aber es haben heute eben ein paar Hundertstel gefehlt."
Sina Schielke: "Wir haben den nassen Start heil nach Hause gebracht, aber es hat leider nicht gereicht. Alle hatten die gleichen Bedingungen."

Robert FAZEKAS (Discus):
"I knew if my first throw was going to be around 66m or 67m, I'd gain confidence and approval that my form is still there. I was ready for a 70m result, of course without the rain and with a dry circle. To beat the Olympic champion and the best German in front of his own crowd is a satisfaction for me. Especially considering the fact that I achieved all this during my first appearance at the European Championships."

Pavel LOSKUTOV (Marathon):
"That's the only way to win medals at big events - to run at the European Championships without Africans. It was a tough field with six Spanish and six Italian runners. And they concentrated on themselves, that was the chance for me. Nobody worked for the pace, except the two Scandinavian runners at the top. The Finish boy was a surprise for me, nobody was counting on him as he only had 2:16 in the lists. In the stadium I just ran, no tactics were required. It was the third marathon this year for me, over all I have about 20 in my legs. The next will be in December in Fukuoka."

Ismail SGHYR (5000 m):
"What can I tell you? At the home straight I was tired, he won and I was second. It is as simple as that. Anyway I'm highly satisfied with my placing."

Sergiy LEBID (5000 m):
"Just before the championships I got ill. So at the end of the day I must be satisfied. Of course I wasn't feeling 100 percent fresh. My legs were too heavy when I got my usual kick 250 m before the finish. Otherwise I would have been closer to Garcia. I'm trying to run on a high level and on all tracks, but so far I must admit I've been better in the cross-country."

Michael Möllenbeck (Discus):
"This was water-world rather than a discus competition. The fact that the winner threw 68,83 inspite of these conditions deserves respect though. It was very slippery. To of my throws were completely screwed up, but under these conditions you just don't risk too much. I'd still like to compete until Athens 2004, maybe even longer - at least if I stay healthy."

Julio REY (Marathon):
"My main goal was to win the gold medal. But ok, the bronze medal is great too. The group of the Spanish marathon men proved that they are the best in Europe. Because of the rain, my legs became heavier and heavier, but that's no excuse because everyone had the same conditions."

Janne HOLMEN (Marathon):
"It wasn't my pre-race idea to run a start-finish race, I had actually hoped to run in a group of good runners. When I saw that only the Norwegian was keeping pace with me, I didn't hesitate to run my own race though. I was perfectly informed about the intermediate times, so it was a little bit easier. The rain didn't bother me at all. I hope that I'll be more popular at home now. I have no real idol amongst the Finnish runners of the past, because I'm 24 years old only. I suppose the first words of my mother after we'll meet each other will be:'Congratulations poika (sonny)!' The finish track and field federation will be so generous to pay me 10.000 € for this title."

Virgilius ALEKNA (Discus):
"I'm not pushing things too much this season, it's more to relax. My results so far were not as strong as in the past years. So I have to be satisfied with the silver. To throw at these conditions is a kind of lottery. I did my best already in the first round and then everything became wetter and wetter, impossible to improve."

Sureyya AYHAN (1500 m):
"Even if you offered me the whole world, I'd rather take this gold medal. I knew that I was in good shape, ready to win. I had no special tactic. I always run my own race and I prepared myself really well in several training camps before the EC, although I had had injury problems for over two years. Shortly after the race I felt really sick - it was just so exhausting - all the emotions and the atmosphere in the stadium. I was known in Turkey before, but when I come home now, it's probably gonna be unbelievable."

Kajsa BERQVIST (High-jump):
"These were the worst conditions I can remember. I knew, I'm the favorite, but with these conditions everything is possible. Due to my constant performance and stability in this season I could make the most of it. That was the key to my success."

Olesya ZYKINA (4x400 m):
"I knew that Breuer would attack from behind, but I was so tired after all the races here in Munich, that I couldn't manage to respond to her kick. I think I didn't make a mistake to go to the front and overrun her on the bend."

Tatyana TOMASHOVA (1500 m):
"My tactics were to run an even pace every lap. I succeeded with this strategy and got a medal, which is great. I feel more like a 5000m specialist and I think this will help me a lot for running a great 5 at the WC next year. Coming into the last round, I started to think about getting on the podium."

Melanie PASCHKE (4x100 m):
"We had been looking forward to the Gold medal throughout the whole year and at firt sight the disappointment is there, although I'm rather content at the end of the day. Being the Vice-European Champion isn't too bad after all. This nervosity during the race is gonna kill me at some stage though."

Gabriela SZABO (1500 m):
"The last time I competed against the Turkish girl was in Edmonton back in 2001. From then on, I haven't seen her. Of course I'm not very happy, because the next chance will come in four years. It looks like 1500 meters aren't definitley my speciality. Today, she was one step better, that's track and field..."

Marina KUPTSOVA (High-jump):
"I wanted to win. That's the only thing which was important for me. I didn't jump 1,94 m and 1,96 m. Anyway, I was second and wanted to save energy for the other heights. It was very difficult on the wet runway in the cold weather. What a pity, that the rain came during the last day for our competition."

Marzin Urbas (Poland 4x100 m):
"We came here to win a medal. We are a strong team of six runners, knowing each other very well and we practiced very often. We'd like to continue in this manner and next year we'll hopefully be able to run 38,3."

Yuriy BORZAKOVSKIY (4x400 m Russia):
"It was very nice, I nearly beat Caines on the last meters; excellent. This was a good training week for me with 4 races. And now I got a medal in addition. We thought we could come third at the best. After the Europeans I will continue on my special distance 800 m in London and Brussels."

GREAT BRITAIN 4x400 m:
Jared Deacon: "I just ran as fast as I could, because I wanted a gold medal. It was a really technical race today. Maybe I should try the hurdles now....."
Jamie Baulch: "I hoped to get in a good position, but I knew we'd bring it home. The team is incredible, it's almost like a family for me. We are very strong, the Americans should better watch out now!"

Alberto GARCIA (5000 m):
"In the finish I was very confident and felt well. So I knew I could do it. The rainy weather wasn't too bad for me, I'm used to run at bad conditions."

Olexej LUKASHEVICH (Long-jump):
"It was an Ukrainian day on Sunday. I saw my colleagues winning medals in the relay and the 5000m, so it was a big motivation for me. With the bad weather we lost around 20cm."

Sinisa ERGOTIC (Long-jump):
"Before the Championships I jumped 8,14 during a rainy competition, so I was fairly sure not to have problems with a wet run-up in Munich. I had to fight against bad luck, because I had one try in which I made my take off at least 20 cm before the beam. Maybe it would have been a 8,20 jump."

Larisa KRUGLOVA (4x100 m Russia):
"We did what was possible, in that kind of the conditions. Wet hands, wet baton, but we are extremly satisfied with the bronze medal. That was the maximum, we could get today."

GREAT BRITAIN (4x100):
Dwain Chambers: "In the last couple of years the British relay teams weren't happy fighting with so many problems. It seems now that a good relay team is here again. British weather, British gold, so what?"
Christian Malcolm: "The boys gave me a fantastic time, although it was very slippery. The guys on the team are fantastic. We've got the perfect team spirit."

Wilson KIPKETER (800 m):
"I was so happy to come back in winning-mood after so many problems. It was over all very tough and the first European gold medal for me is a great satisfaction. The first round was as I expected very slow, so I started my kick 200m before the finish, it was a decision of the minute. Then I controlled the situation looking into the big video-screen."

Nils SCHUMANN (800 m):
"After the race, I was a bit angry, but Wilson and André were faster in the end. Last week, I had a cold and couldn't hardly train.I didn't make any faults, it was a very interesting race and I learned a lot. That's my first bronze medal, which was really hard to get. My goal is to get more constantly and to have less outcomes."

Andre BUCHER (800 m):
"Everybody is saying to me what a great performance of mine it was. That's true. Missing ten weeks of preparation was a problem to handle for me. The first slow lap was just what I needed. I'm curiuos what happens on Friday at Letzigrund."

France 4x100 m:
Murile Hurtis:
"I was a little bit tired today, but that's normal because I already did the 200m here in Munich. We have a really great team though, so we knew we were able to win nevertheless."
Odiah Sidibe:
"When I got the baton I knew that we could win. I was a little behind the Germans, but then I gave everything and we made it. I think we are able to ran even faster when Silviane (Felix) and Muriel (Hurtis) would be more fresh than today."

Konstantin Rurak (4x100 m Ukraine):
"We have a very strong team and were really hoping for a medal. After 6 years we've finally been able to put such a quartett together again. As most of the members of the team are still young, we want to be better at the Olympics."