Germany at Paris 2024

[StefanMUC]

Just thought I also start a little thread about our own team, which will with 427 athletes be the fourth biggest (425 in Tokyo).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_at_the_2024_Summer_Olympics

I doubt that we will end up 4th in the medals table though, but here's my thoughts on our chances:

ARCHERY
Recent years have seen our archers constantly medalling at international events. Apart from the men's team which narrowly missed qualification, in all events there's some chances, especially in the women's team and in the mixed.

ATHLETICS
Any top 8 place in the track or road events would feel like a medal already. In field events, a lot will depend on whether Malaika Mihambo has recovered from a recent Covid infection after her sensational performance at the European Championships (7.22m). Throwers were once a guarantee to medal, but this time there's only limited expectations, most likely in men's javelin, women's shot put and discus. And of course there's Leo Neugebauer in the decathlon who surely has the potential to get to 9000 points sooner than later.

BADMINTON
Surviving the group stages would be a huge success already for all of our competitors.

BASKETBALL
As reignign world champions, our men's team is hopefully going to build on that success, even though gold seems unlikely. Women's team has qualified for the first time in ages, this alone is a victory already. However the 3x3 women might have bigger chances, the captain of the "standard" version team even opted for the 3x3 as the medal chance seems better.

BOXING
Only two qualifiers, no idea how they will do though I've seen that Tiafack in the men's super heavy is ranked high in the seeding list I think.

CANOEING
In Tokyo, we got medals in all four slalom events. Now there's six of them and probably also chances in all to some degree, but I don't think we will again see this 100% success rate.
For the other events, some medals could as usual be expected, though the big days of (East) German dominance are over.

CYCLING
Medals in road or mountain bike would be a surprise, in BMX a miracle. Track however is a German stronghold and should bring a few good results, especially in the women's sprint disciplines.

DIVING
More likely in the two synchro events where we qualified, but still more of a long shot to get medals, even though German divers are constant perfomers but never near the top.

EQUESTRIAN
Dressage seems like a horseshoe-in for at least one gold medal, if not both. Jumping and eventing can be a mixed bag, so wait and see.

FENCING
Smallest team ever, just two individual qualifiers in women's foil and men's sabre, but both are top 10 ranked so if all goes well are in with a shout (more likely another empty handed Olympics trip for what was once the pride of the German team - not just in...erm...1976).

FIELD HOCKEY
German men are reigning world champions, women are also among the top 4 teams in the world normally, so at least semi-finals must be the goal here for both if not more.

FOOTBALL
Only the women's team qualified this time (after winning gold in Rio and missing out Tokyo). So after a few rather slim years for them, there seems to be an upwards trend. If it is enough to win a medal is a bit of a doubt for me. They're coached by Horst Hrubesch, who as a player won Euro 1980 and as a coach silver with the men in Rio.

GOLF
Our team of four are probably only going to be also rans with some distance.

GYMNASTICS
Finally a trampoline qualifier again! Don't think he'll be able to fight for the medals though unlike Darja Varfolomeev in Rhythmic who as world champion is one of the big faves there. In Artistic, the women missed out as a team by a very small margin, while the men are in but as team probably won't win a medal. Both genders can have individual apparatus results though (Lukas Dauser as parallel bars world champ maybe or Pauline Schäfer).

HANDBALL
Men are perennial medal hopes that hardly ever materialise, so let's see about this round. Like in basketball, women have qualified for the first time in a while and maybe they can surprise.

JUDO
10 out of 14 categories represented, and there's also a recent world champion, Anna-Maria Wagner in the 78 kilo category who is probably our biggest hope plus maybe the one or other positive surprise. The mixed team could also do well like in Tokyo.

MODERN PENTATHLON
She's back: Annika Schleu, the huge fave in Tokyo who then caused the huge scandal. She has married in the meantime and a new last name (Zillekens) and is also not ranked so highly anymore. But maybe she wants revenge (poor horses!). Our two men are outsiders but not completely hopeless.

ROWING
Oliver Zeidler is a three time singe sculls world champion who hopefully can finally crown himself in the Olympics too. For the rest, not a great qualification period so I'm not getting hopes too high, even though the men's eight is always one to watch.

SAILING
Perfect qualification period with representation in all classes. Whether this will again like in Tokyo result in a few medals remains to be seen, I'm not really following sailing much to predict anything here.

SHOOTING
German shooters are topping world rankings in four disciplines I think, so hopefully one or the other will also come through for Olympic glory.

SKATEBOARDING
Qualifying one each in the park events was a success already, no need to get hopes too high.

SPORTS CLIMBING
On a good day, our three boulder/lead climbers could do well, but it's an uphill (haha) struggle.

SURFING
Same as skateboarding, at least they'll have fun in Tahiti.

SWIMMING
Probably best chances in the longer freestyle distances and obviously our stronghold in open water. Angelina Köhler won the worlds in 100 butterfly, but here the competition is likely much stronger. I'll be watching that final in person, so she better does well!

TABLE TENNIS
Both teams should be in the running to end up behind China, as they've done several times in the past. Also in the mixed there could be an outside chance for a medal, probably not so much in the individual events where it's the farewell of former world no 1 Timo Boll.

TAEKWONDO
Only one athlete this time, but she just won the European Championships, so maybe she can surprise also in Paris.

TENNIS
Alex Zverev likes Roland Garros obviously, so maybe he's in with a chance to defend his title. He should also have a decent chance in the mixed with Laura Siegemund, who in turn could do a nice surprise in doubles with Angelique Kerber. If they all go empty-handed, it would however also not be much of a surprise.

TRIATHLON
The mixed relay won the worlds last year, so one to watch out here (if the Seine waters allow it). Individual races will be tough to medal though.

VOLLEYBALL
Men's team qualified this time, and that'll be it. At the Eiffel beach, there's hope for a positive surprise though I guess the 2012/2016 golds will not be repeated now (Laura Ludwig, one of the 2016 winners, is again competing with a new partner this time).

WRESTLING
After all the quota place reallocation (thank you, "neutrals" for not wanting to be neutral), the German team has grown to seven. Some of them are also ranked in the top 10, so on a good day a lot may be possible.

[StefanMUC]

Oh dear...one of our most important footballers, Lena Oberdorf, suffered a heavy knee injury in a match against Austria yesterday. She'll be out for several months.

That's quite a blow for our (already slim) medal chances.

[Durban Sandshark]

18 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

Oh dear...one of our most important footballers, Lena Oberdorf, suffered a heavy knee injury in a match against Austria yesterday. She'll be out for several months.

That's quite a blow for our (already slim) medal chances.

Funny, I was watching Lena Oberdorf's ZDF online Olympia short documentary profile yesterday. No doubt this is a devastating blow--talented, she's set to join Bayern Munich very soon from Wolfsburg. And Germany is already in a tough group with Australia, Zambia, and those rotten inepters (don't get me started on them--I disowned them...).  If lucky, they could squeak into the elimination round.

As for the German basketball, it's an awesome time for it and watch it continue to grow its international profile and become a force. Bench depth is an issue for the German women against the top teams. Germany actually is making its debut in Olympic women's basketball here. Paris 2024, I believe, is a happy bonus to build upon for ultimately hosting and succeeding in the next FIBA Women's World Basketball Championship with Eurobasket Womens along the way and an experienced international coach in Canadian Lisa Thomaidis, who previously coached Canada. 

[StefanMUC]

German team grew to 428 (assumming Lena Oberdorf will be replaced in the football squad) at the last minute as Maximilian Marterer got lucky and filled the last spot when a Korean player withdrew. Let's see if that gives him extra motivation!

[StefanMUC]

First medal event (mixed air rifle), and already German team finishing 4th. That‘ll be the motto for us: so close but yet so far…

 

[Olympian2004]

4 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

First medal event (mixed air rifle), and already German team finishing 4th. That‘ll be the motto for us: so close but yet so far…

 

The motto also applies to the location of these Games, I guess: We could have hosted these Games (or one of the previous editions, at least in winter), and now we have to let our French friends and neighbours do the honours.  

But so far, I'm actually quite hopeful for Germany's chances during these Games. We already saw good performances of the German swimmers, which has become a rarity especially during Olympic Games in the past 25 years. And even if he don't reach the fourth, fifth or even sixth spot in the medal table (we should not forget that other nations become more and more competitive in recent years): It is important that our athletes give their best, regardless of the outcome. But I guess someone called Baron Pierre de Coubertin said something similar before me.

[StefanMUC]

Yeah, preliminary rounds today (and in archery and football on Thursday) went rather good indeed so far. Would be nice to get a medal in the pool tonight for a motivational kick that has sometimes lacked in the past at the beginning.

[Olympian2004]

43 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Yeah, preliminary rounds today (and in archery and football on Thursday) went rather good indeed so far. Would be nice to get a medal in the pool tonight for a motivational kick that has sometimes lacked in the past at the beginning.

Yery true! The German team always needs some reassurance early on in the Olympic Games. I remember that in Atlanta in 1996, German media became very nervous because it took several days before Germany even gained a single medal, I believe. 

[AmaniS]

4th or 5th sounds about right. 

[Daze]

First Olympic Gold in Swimming (Men) since 1988!

[StefanMUC]

4 hours ago, Olympian2004 said:

Yery true! The German team always needs some reassurance early on in the Olympic Games. I remember that in Atlanta in 1996, German media became very nervous because it took several days before Germany even gained a single medal, I believe. 

Well. Not to worry about that this year then. A gold by a male pool swimmer…amazing!

 

[Olympian2004]

1 hour ago, StefanMUC said:

Well. Not to worry about that this year then. A gold by a male pool swimmer…amazing!

 

Yes, what an amazing start into these Games! I thought that Lukas Märtens' performance in the heats and semi-final were promising, but I really did not expect him to win the gold. I hope that the 24-year spell for the German Olympic swimming team (only interrupted by Britta Steffen's gold medals in 2008) has been finally broken and there are more convincing performances to come during these Games.

[Olympian2004]

In the heats, sorry. There was no semi-final for the men's 400 metres freestyle.

[StefanMUC]

After yesterday‘s convincing start, not a great day for „Team D“ in Paris with several team sports losses and high medal hopes in archery and canoe slalom crushed, plus narrow misses in Judo, Fencing and especially the two 4th places in the pool. Though Melvin Imodou coming within a few 1/100 of gold is actually amazing.

But all that lack of medals is totally outweighed for me by the fact that I HAVE ARRIVED AT MY FIRST OLYMPICS!!!  First stop was indeed La Défense where we could witness the crowd going extatic over Léon Marchand. A fantastic atmosphere, now looking forward to the next few days (though tomorrow I have to give in to family pressure and instead of worshipping Pierre de Coubertin, we‘ll be filling Walt Disney‘s coffers…).

[Sir Rols]

Glad you made it there @StefanMUC! Did the trip go smoothly?

[StefanMUC]

4 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

Glad you made it there @StefanMUC! Did the trip go smoothly?

Slight delay (problems on German side typically…), but otherwise fine.

[FYI]

20 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

But all that lack of medals is totally outweighed for me by the fact that I HAVE ARRIVED AT MY FIRST OLYMPICS!!!  First stop was indeed La Défense where we could witness the crowd going extatic over Léon Marchand. A fantastic atmosphere, now looking forward to the next few days (though tomorrow I have to give in to family pressure and instead of worshipping Pierre de Coubertin, we'll be filling Walt Disney's coffers...).

Yep, that's what it's all about (not about some conservative nutjobs online going on-&-on about the "woke"  ceremony)!! Gawd, I so wish I was there!!! Please post some pics of your time there, if you can!! That said, even if I was in Paris, I have someone that would also make me be going to the mouse kingdom too, despite the real reason why I wanted to be there ITFP!! 

[Sir Rols]

I must admit, I’ve also been forced to pay tribute to the Magic Kingdom while in Paris. I paid them back though by forcing them to accompany me to the Musee d’Orsay nxt day.

[Faster]

1 minute ago, Sir Rols said:

I must admit, I’ve also been forced to pay tribute to the Magic Kingdom while in Paris. I paid them back though by forcing them to accompany me to the Musee d’Orsay nxt day.

There is only one Magic Kingdom and it is in Florida. Disneyland Paris is its own weird thing. Plus I cannot wait to go there one day. And the Japanese versions.

[Sir Rols]

I consider Anaheim the true home. I’ve been there, Hong Kong and Paris.

Forgive the mouse-led thread derailment, Stefan. But you DID start it.

[sebastien1214]

36 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

(though tomorrow I have to give in to family pressure and instead of worshipping Pierre de Coubertin, we‘ll be filling Walt Disney‘s coffers…).

The good news for your family: Disneyland Paris is deserted (well, much emptier than during the usual summers). However, you will have to put up with the RER A: good luck!

29 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Slight delay (problems on German side typically…), but otherwise fine.

I personally have a little hatred towards Deutsche Bahn since that day in November 2023 when they prevented me from returning to Strasbourg and I had to take a 500-600km detour to get there.

Enjoy your stay in France!

[Faster]

1 hour ago, Sir Rols said:

I consider Anaheim the true home. I’ve been there, Hong Kong and Paris.

Forgive the mouse-led thread derailment, Stefan. But you DID start it.

Anaheim is Disneyland Park. Magic Kingdom is used on as the name for only 1 park.

[Daze]

2nd Gold for Team D.

Michael Jung in Eventing. His 3rd Gold in this discipline.

We will now start our way to Stade de France for the Rugby Quarterfinals.

I expect an amazing atmosphere, the french Team is on a roll.

[yoshi]

1 hour ago, Daze said:

Rugby

That's interesting, never come across German rugby before. Is this a surprise?

[StefanMUC]

1 hour ago, yoshi said:

That's interesting, never come across German rugby before. Is this a surprise?

I think that‘s a misunderstanding. He‘s going to watch Rugby, but no German team has of course ever qualified.

Anyway, even at Disney I could catch some exiting sports as there were very good trampolin and BMX performances during a show (which was otherwise terrible) about Alice in Wonderland in Walt Disney Studios Park.

So I missed the second German gold today, and another 4th place in canoe slalom again. The gold was nice, but the odd silver or bronze would also be nice…let‘s see what Lukas Märtens does in the 200 free tonight.

Also went to the official megastore which however was temporarily closed apparently? There was a huuuuuge queue that didn‘t move for 15 minutes so we went and will try our luck later in the week.

BTW big thumbs up for Paris 2024 volunteers at venues/metro so far. Super friendly and knowledgeable when needed until now.

I also managed to finally sell of my badminton tickets for Friday, and found some rather tempting athletics for the Saturday morning session to close this trip before heading home Saturday evening (SNCF and Deutsche Bahn willing…).

Last but not least: For our tennis session tomorrow during the day I checked the known line-up for our court (Simonne-Mathieu). Not expected much as it‘s only the third court, but couldn‘t believe my eyes: first match will be Angie Kerber‘s. She has a great run so far but since she said that the Olympics will be her final tournament, we might attend her last match ever (I hope she wins against Fernandez though). Second match is again Canada vs Germany with Auger-Aliassime against Maximilian Marterer who could enter only after someone had withdrawn. Then there‘s the Czech Wimbledon winner Krejčiková, which will be a treat for my half-Czech kids. And finally Gauff/Fritz in the mixed. Couldn‘t have asked for more really!