Commentator Carsten Sostmeier is indispensable among equestrian fans. However, in the past he has not only made a name for himself with positive comments.
Carsten Sostmeier (64) is the voice of equestrian sport on German TV. At the Olympic Games in Paris, he commented on all of the German equestrian stars’ gold moments – he was happy and suffered with them. Often praised, he also has to put up with criticism. One verbal slip-up in particular has stayed with him to this day.
“I have never experienced such fairness in the audience”
Carsten Sostmeier has just returned from France when we reach him. Still inspired by the impressions he has gathered and the successes of the German equestrian stars. “It was a fascinating atmosphere. I have never experienced such a fair audience. The spectators accompanied the riders back to their box with warm applause – regardless of whether the round was perfect or not,” he enthuses. The Olympic Games in Paris were his eighth Games at the microphone. And it is sentences like these that suddenly make equestrian sport a unique experience even for the layman: “Ride, you have it in front of you, the Arc de Triomphe of golden emotions. Go for the crown of equestrianism!” This is how he commented on show jumper Michael Jung’s gold medal. Sostmeier literally jumps out of the saddle when the German equestrian stars win medals. But the same goes when things aren’t going well!
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He made a verbal slip-up eight years ago and it still haunts him today. Sostmeier: “Behaving like I did with Ms. Krajewski in 2016 – I will be ashamed of that for the rest of my life.”
What happened: During the cross-country ride at the Olympic Games, he talked down the then debutant Julia Krajewski before she had even started. He speculated that Krajewski must have a “brown streak in her pants” and continued: “It can hardly get any worse – the only thing missing is for her to be eliminated.” Afterwards, criticism rained down from both riders and from his own ranks. “Anyone who knows me knows that this still accompanies me every day – just like no beautiful golden moment in my life accompanies me. But I will always blame myself for that,” he explains.
Sostmeier: “Equestrian sport is my life!”
A slip-up that perhaps also affects him because he loves horse riding so much. “I was very lucky that my parents gave me the opportunity to ride as a child. I am a very animal-loving person anyway.” But it was horses in particular that sparked his passion.
“Equestrian sport is not my job, it’s my life,” he explains. He spends 365 days a year working with horses and riders. His archive contains over 2,300 active athletes from the three Olympic disciplines, “and this is updated every week. I also find out about breeding and read a lot of articles,” and continues: “When I sit down at the microphone, that’s the moment when I come alive.”
He doesn’t prepare certain sentences beforehand and he doesn’t need a notepad. “I’m an equestrian commentator, not an actor. I’m just a little more emotional – especially when I see a perfect connection between rider and horse.” You can’t act that and it’s not a stylistic device. He doesn’t want to use it to become his own brand. “Sostmeier comments for the horses, for equestrian sport, for the viewers who are watching on the screens – and not for me.”
This article first appeared on RTL.de
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
