For DOSB competitive sports director Olaf Tabor, the balance at the end of the third European Games in Kraków is mixed.
“We are on the road as expected, not worse, but not better either,” said the 52-year-old of the German Press Agency, especially with a view to qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The German team, whose chef de mission is Tabor, who left on Wednesday, is fourth in the medal table before the final decisions.
The almost 290-strong squad had won 17 gold, 13 silver and 26 bronze medals by Saturday evening. Today the European Games end with the closing ceremony in Kraków’s Henryk Reyman Stadium.
The German team, which is active in 27 of 29 sports, secured seven starting places – so-called quota places – for the 2024 Olympic Games. “Team D is on course – but there is still a long way to go through the Olympic qualification and to Paris,” said Tabor.
Low audience interest
In the Olympic field, with 20 medals collected, they are within striking distance of similarly successful nations such as France, Great Britain and Spain. He was surprised by the strong performance of the Italian team, which clearly dominated the European games.
Tabor also noticed the low interest in the audience – not only in the German public, but especially on site. In the city, the visibility of the games could have been significantly higher, he noted. “If there had been more marketing in the regional arena, more people might have become aware of it.”
