LETTER FROM BERLIN
For a few weeks, the Olympic Games may have reconciled France with itself, but on the other side of the Rhine, they fueled an astonishing moment of self-criticism: The historically poor performances of German athletes fanned a fatalistic discourse that went far beyond the world of sport.
Why aren't the Germans performing better in top-level sport? With the opening of the Paralympic Games, this question was on the minds of the local press. With 33 medals, the country came 10th in the Paris Olympics ranking, far behind nations such as the US, Japan and France, with whom it also competes in other fields. This was its worst result since reunification in 1990.
The athletes themselves acknowledged this. "We went into these games with other ambitions," said Olaf Tabor, one of the heads of the German Olympic Committee, at a press conference in early August. "We have 82 million inhabitants. It's impossible for us not to have any sporting talent," said Jörg Bügner, sports director of the German Athletics Federation, in Paris on August 9.
Germany has long been one of the most decorated nations at the Olympics – in fact, it has been the country with the most medals since 1896, behind the US, and despite several exclusions in 1920, 1924 and 1948.
But "for years now, German top-level sport has been sinking into mediocrity," as Der Spiegel pointed out in August in a trenchant column, calling, like many specialists, for reform and a genuine social debate. "Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, should be able to afford top-level sport," the magazine concluded. The question is not altogether insignificant at a time when the country is questioning the sustainability of its model, weakened by the energy crisis, inflation and trade tensions with China that are undermining its mercantilist ideology.
Urgent renovation needs
Germany's view of itself is surprisingly harsh. Before the Games, former Olympic discus champion Robert Harting predicted disappointing results. "I'd be very surprised if we did much better than at the last major Olympic events," he had said in Sports Illustrated. "In Germany, performance has almost become something to be ashamed of," he said. "Who still dares to say today that they would like to be the best?"
The country's federalism and reluctance to spend public money are two of its most frequently debated features. In the spring, the German Olympic Committee estimated the need to renovate stadiums, gyms and training centers at over 31 billion euros, while aging sports facilities are in an alarming state that has required urgent action for years.
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