For many decades Germany has been one of the top nations in sports whether one looks at football, handball or even cycling.
However, with a new record low at the recent Summer Olympics in Paris – 33 medals, the lowest score since the unification of Germany, Germans are left to answer the question: why is Germany no longer a top contender for medals but rather scoring worse and worse each year.
News headlines have been filled with concerns for German athletes and elite sports, what is going wrong? Why is Germany no longer the strong sports nation it once was? Well the cause of Germany’s athletic decline can be traced back to several factors which must be addressed to see any improvement within the next decades.
The first and most logical reason many point out is a low budget and little investment leading to poor performance. However, contrary to what one might expect, Germany has actually increased their funding from around 44 million euros to almost 60 million within the last decade. Though of course these investments are significantly lower than other sports nations such as the US, one must wonder why the increase in budget has not translated to improved performance but rather done the opposite.
Experts claim that most of this money intended to support athletes actually never reaches them but rather gets lost within bureaucracy and an inefficient use of resources. Even the secretary of internal affairs and the German Olympic committee have identified that bureaucracy must decrease to see an improvement in performance.
Beyond the funding crisis Germany is also faced with a shrinking number of elite athletes. Again this issue arises due to countless reasons including a lack of scouting, support and financial opportunities.
A structured and large scouting system as seen in the US for many sports no longer exists in Germany or never did. Scouting in Germany has become quite difficult within the recent decades as there is a lack of scouts, scouting centers and underfunded facilities. Besides this, many coaches claim a reason for this is also a more sedentary lifestyle as a society which leads to less athletic and sport focused generations.
Additionally, elite athletes often highlight the lack of support they receive whether from the government or their schools making it hard to train and improve. Most athletes spend a majority of their time training, preparing and traveling for competitions, which is of course a costly endeavor. Most athletes receive little to no financial assistance from the government and have to take up a second job to support themselves, especially when they are in university.
Moreover, in contrast to American universities where sport is connected to the school and supported, German universities are much less lenient when it comes to missing class for training or competitions. Rather than working to create a plan that allows athletes to train and pursue their studies at the same time German athletes are expected to place school above all. Consequently making it extremely difficult to train at a high level when also taking into consideration the need for an additional source of income.
Finally, the lack of German talents and coaches can also be attributed to the lack of opportunities in Germany. While most funding and money lands in a handful of sports such as football and tennis, other sports, including their coaches and athletes struggle to find opportunities whether that is for training, studies, development or jobs. Therefore, countless athletes and coaches move to other countries to pursue their sport at better facilities with more financial compensation and more support from their institutions. Prime examples of this are Leo Neugebauer and Alicia Schmidt, German athletes who competed for Germany at the past olympics but continue to train in the US. However, most athletes do not even get these opportunities as not many scholarships are given out and moving away for family and friends is not often an option.
At the 2024 olympics Germany placed 10th in the overall ranking and while most would not consider this mediocrity it is far below previous performances and standards. Without significant change in funding, support for elite athletes and coaches, a better scouting system and talent development nothing will change. German athletes will continue to struggle and keeping up with competitors will become harder and harder.
However, there is still hope, the ministry of internal affairs has announced that they will continue to develop further scouting programs and increase funding.
