Claudia Pechstein also caused a sensation on the ice when she was 45 years old. After her World Cup victory, the five-time Olympic champion for Olympia in Pyeongchang is a hot potato.
The verbal accolade for Claudia Pechstein came from the top position:”This renewed success shows what kind of wood she is made of,”said DOSB President Alfons Hörmann to the SID after Pechstein’s Gold Coup at the Ice Speed Skating World Cup in Stavanger.
According to Hörmann, it is “simply unbelievable”how she copes with the particular burdens of recent years and how she has “worked hard to achieve new successes on a historic scale”. That’s why the 45-year-old is a candidate for a special role in the team at the Olympics, and it’s clear that she belongs to the circle of potential flag bearers,”said Hörmann.
Of course, it’s not quite so far yet. The German Olympic Sports Federation wants to award the honorary task, as last time after a vote by the public and the athletes. Thanks to the brilliant 5000 m run in 6:56.60 minutes, Pechstein also broke the Olympic standard and has to be formally nominated for the start in South Korea. Hörmann’s statements proved that this is no obstacle.
The DOSB boss was not alone with his praise for the self-proclaimed “ice-skating grandmother”. Sport director Robert Bartko of the German Speed Skating Association (DESG) paid tribute to her ambition (“super strong, super professional”), and also her rivals bowed down in Norway at the award ceremony before the five-time Olympic champion.
And Pechstein? I’m not surprised by the result,”she self-confidently told the ZDF,” I’ve worked very well,”said Pechstein with great pride and satisfaction in her voice.
Not only does Pechstein’s achievement confirm her performance, but at an advanced age Pechstein still drives her to the ice. At the latest since their controversial two-year ban due to increased blood levels, the incentive has also changed.
Prior to the start of the Olympic season, the ISU world federation gave her the greatest motivation, said Pechstein:”Nothing is more beautiful than standing on the podium and having to be honored by the ISU”, as in Stavanger. All her critics, and last but not least the ISU, have to keep their finger on the pulse of her forefinger, which she keeps in front of her mouth after successful races – also on Sunday.
For years, Pechstein has been fighting against the barrier she considered to be a great injustice, which cost her participation in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. She went to various courts and struggled through the courts, but is still waiting for the resounding success.
In the previous year, it had a bitter bankruptcy before the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), which declared its action for damages against the ISU to be inadmissible. “Victory or death,”Pechstein said with regard to the trial,”that’s definitely my path.”
Meanwhile, Pechstein looks far less martial towards the competitions in South Korea. Pechstein said she wanted to “stay healthy and expand the form further”. If she succeeds, her seventh Olympic Games could become a personal winter fairy tale.