The German Olympic team will participate on Friday with 162 people at the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang – Claudia Pechstein will be missing, however. The five-time Olympic speed-skating champion will not participate in the event for “professional reasons”, said Chief of Mission Dirk Schimmelpfennig on Friday morning.
Pechstein, who will be contesting her first competition (3000 m) on Saturday, followed his recommendation, Schimmelpfennig added. All other flag carrier candidates – ski racer Viktoria Rebensburg, tobogganist Natalie Geisenberger and ice hockey player Christian Ehrhoff – will enter the Olympic Stadium on Friday evening behind flag bearer Eric Frenzel.
The three defeated candidates will march in directly behind the combiner Frenzel, followed by the rest of the athletes, then the coaches and finally the officials with President Alfons Hörmann, CEO Veronika Rücker and Schimmelpfennig at the end. Since more members of “Team D” had registered than there were seats available, some of them had to be left out. However, all athletes were considered.
Germany’s best luge athlete Felix Loch also submits a lot to the fight for the next Olympic victory – including the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea. The 28-year-old will not enter the Olympic Stadium on Friday evening with the German delegation:”That’s going to be too long for me,” said Loch after the final practice session:”I’ll take a leisurely look at the opening at the Deutsches Haus.