Friedhelm Julius Beucher in an interview after the Paralympics – Sport
Interviewed by Sebastian Fisher Friedhelm Julius Beucher, 75, President of the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS), left a message of peace on Thursday on the stone arches in the athletes’ village of Zhangjiakou, on which athletes and officials sign: “Peace for all, Friedhelm Julius Beucher, NPC Germany”. The message was gone on Friday. “It just […]
Paralympics: In Search of Youth – Sport
The cross-country skiing coach Albert Kürner had always thought it was a cliché that professional athletes speak into microphones after success: that they have not yet “realized” what they have just achieved. On Tuesday of this week he knew how it feels. The chairman of the St. Peter ski club in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district told […]
Ukraine at the Paralympics: Every medal a message of peace – Sport
Grigory Vovchinsky was the first to win a medal for Ukraine at the Paralympics in Beijing, and he was the first to broadcast the significance of that achievement in front of reporters’ microphones around the world. “My gold medal is for peace in Ukraine, for the people of Ukraine and for a world without war,” […]
Leonie Walter at the 2022 Paralympics: St. Peter is upside down – sport
Since Tuesday morning, Renate Walter has been able to describe what happens when the community of St. Peter in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is happy about a gold medal. It’s lucky to be able to reach her at all, she says on the phone, and during the conversation the cell phone rings again in the […]
China at the Paralympics: The nice glow of the medals – Sport
Most Chinese haven’t heard what was probably most important to Andrew Parsons. “Peace,” yelled the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) at the end of his speech at the opening ceremony. “I am appalled by what is happening in the world right now,” he had previously said. But his statements on the political world […]
Russia’s War and Sport: From Action to Word – Sport
“Whoever names things,” political scientist Martin Greiffenhagen once said, “is in control of them.” So whoever speaks, always acts. For example, by not mentioning actors, he can make them disappear as if they and their actions did not exist. The most recent, chilling example was warmonger Vladimir Putin’s attempt to disguise the war of aggression […]
Opening of the Paralympics: Silent Cry for Peace – Sport
The applause, as recorded by the microphones, sounded polite, not frenetic, but respectful as they entered the stadium: 20 Ukrainian athletes on Friday evening in Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” arena. Some raised their fists. The German athletes later took off their hats for a moment as they entered. And Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic […]
Paralympics in Beijing: biathlete Clara Klug’s losing streak
Clara Klug is now learning chess. This is quite appropriate for someone who passed the Abitur with a grade of 1.2. A friend gives her lessons and also homework. “You need alternatives,” says the 27-year-old. She would never have thought that she would play chess when the Paralympics were just around the corner. Klug can […]