With bloody and scraped hands, Hannah Meul wins the first medal for the German climbers at the European Championships in Munich. The national coach calls for a party – Meul probably won’t go along with it.
Climber Hannah Meul got on her knees, showed the 5000 freaking fans at Munich’s Königsplatz her silver smile and shortly afterwards opened her EM party with a water fight.
The home audience, who had driven Germany’s best climber to second place in bouldering in Munich, had earned the opportunity to cool down from the spray gun. For the 21-year-old from the German Alpine Association, the climbing coup is the greatest success of her young career. A dry spell ended for the DAV.
Meul captured “the amazing moment” with selfies in front of the packed Königsplatz. As “breathtaking, overwhelming and simply gigantic”, the cheerful Rhenish nature described her emotional state immediately after her success. “I’m infinitely grateful for this huge party. It gave me wings,” enthused the beaming runner-up.
Meul lives up to expectations
The hot cauldron in Munich released all the power reserves of the athlete from the DAV section Rhineland-Cologne on Sunday. Time and time again, Meul used her last bit of power to pull herself up with her fingertips and sometimes swung upside down on the steep wall. In total, the cheeky climber climbed two of the four routes to the top, the highest hold on the 4.5 meter high wall. Only exceptional athlete Janja Garnbret, who had already won gold in the lead the day before, was better again. Bronze went to France’s Oriane Bertone.
After two silver medals in the World Cup, the expectations of Meul were high. And yet the Rhinelander traveled to Munich with a bit of uncertainty. A corona infection slowed the German down at the beginning of July and prevented her from optimal preparation. Only a few days before the start of the European Championships, the part-time social work student was able to regain her good feeling on the wall.
Meul fulfills a dream
Meul loves her sport like no other. At the age of seven she hung on a climbing wall for the first time and at the age of ten she competed in her first kids’ cup. Shortly thereafter, the career aspirations were clear. “When I was eleven, I wrote an essay in English that I wanted to become a professional climber,” said the 21-year-old. Ten years later, Meul is more than that. “It’s a dream to be able to fulfill this at the age of 21,” she said.
Meul’s silver medal is the first success in Munich for the DAV. In 2015, Juliane Wurm was the last German climber to win precious metal at a European Championship. “It has to be celebrated,” demanded national coach Ingo Filzwieser. Will Meul take part? “I really just want to go to my bed and sleep early,” she said exhausted.
Source: Stern
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