Krefeld. The city of Krefeld honored its participants in the Olympic Games in Tokyo with a reception in the town hall – Aline Rotter-Focken, Jonathan Rommelmann and Sabine Tschäge accepted the invitation from Mayor Frank Meyer. The Lord Mayor and mayors, council members, club officials and employees of the city administration as well as representatives of the press were happy about the good results of Krefeld at the games in the Far East. So he did not want to accept the very general criticism of the German performance.
“Despite the partly justified criticism, I would like to take a step back and look at the big picture. In the past year and a half we were confronted with a global pandemic that claimed millions of lives and made many people – including competitive athletes – chronically ill and struggled to return to normal life. Limited training opportunities, the lack of exchange between athletes, coaches and officials, competitions without spectators, the constant fear of infection: sport, whether in the leisure sector or at the top of the world, is definitely one of the big sufferers of the corona crisis – which you don’t last seen from the fact that the 2020 Olympic Games could only take place in a unique historical turn in 2021. Among the many lessons that we can and must learn from this time, one seems to me particularly important: humility. First of all, we have to be grateful that we were able to celebrate an international festival in the middle of the pandemic – the joy was actually written on the faces of the athletes from the opening ceremony, and it was also palpable at home in front of the TV screens. ”
Frank Meyer experienced the same thing himself. He reported from his vacation in France when Aline Rotter-Focken fought for the gold medal in the final on August 2nd. The daily schedule had been adjusted accordingly to see the fight. They kept their fingers crossed in front of the television and of course they were incredibly happy with the female case when she finally won the most shiny precious metal. “Dear Aline, I am sure you will have been told what was going on on the day of your Olympic victory in Krefeld – your triumph was the talk of the town: Every Krefeld woman and woman, from small children to senior citizens, granted you this medal from the bottom of their hearts and were allowed to do so feel a bit like Olympic champion for a day. ” Now the hall on Steinstrasse, in which the athletes of the KSV Germania wrestle, is to be named “Aline Rotter-Focken-Halle” – the council still has to agree to this. That should also please her father and former trainer Hans-Georg Focken, who attended the ceremony. Even though his daughter now lives in the Black Forest, she always likes to return to her home country and to the hall where she trained hard for years for this golden end to her career. “Now I would be happy to have a vote in the vote for NRW Sportsman of the Year,” said the athlete. It would be the icing on the cake of the three-month marathon of honors and receptions that she has been tirelessly facing since her success.
Jonathan Rommelmann is also nominated for the so-called Felix Awards. Together with Jason Osborne, he won the silver medal in the lightweight double scull in Tokyo and had come with his trainer Sabine Tschäge and a large delegation from the CRC. With Laurits Follert (also silver) and Michaela Staelberg (as the so-called “Alternate Athlete”), the club provided two further participants in the games. “It’s not just medals that count, but participation already means that you belong to the absolute top of the world. At the CRC we experience once again that ambitious, professional club work can pay off at the highest level at some point. That was a sensational result ”, stated Mayor Meyer.
The bronze plaques with the names of the Olympians, which were set in front of the Krefeld town hall on Von-der-Leyen-Platz after the previous Olympic Games, were removed in the course of the redevelopment of the square. Like the current board and others, they are now to be hung near the conference rooms in the town hall.
–
