Athletics: Serenity instead of load: Ogunleye is aiming for hall-em-gold

Almost soul-calm and with a feeling of lightness, the shot put Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye is tuned to the next possible gold coup. “I can trust that I have prepared myself very well,” says the 26-year-old and looks relaxed at the European Halle Championships in Apeldoorn, Dutch-despite the unfamiliar favorites on the international athletics stage.

Ogunleye made the breakthrough almost exactly a year ago. She won silver at the Hallen World Cup in Glasgow. Then her career really picked up speed and was crowned with the surprising Olympic victory at the games in Paris. In Apeldoorn, Ogunleye is now reaching for the next title.

The signs at the Hallen European Championship, which started on Thursday, are somewhat different than with their greatest success so far. This time she is not an outsider on a medal, but a top favorite on gold on Sunday evening.

A mighty announcement to the competition sent Ogunleye at the German indoor championships in Dortmund in February when she pushed the ball to 20.27 meters. The athlete from MTG Mannheim not only set up a personal best, but also travels to the Netherlands as number one in Europe. “With the tailwind I can go to the European Championships,” says Ogunleye confidently and in the hope of being able to increase there again.

Instead of putting pressure on herself, the native Palatinate trusts her mental strength. She wants to keep the level from the DM. “Just like the calm and joy, and then I am sure that I will also come across in Apeldoorn.”

The shot put is asked again thanks to the figurehead

With Ogunleye, the shot put in this country is back on the upper. After the success of Christina Schwanitz and David Storl in the 2010s, the discipline had hardly been considered without a figurehead.

At the ISTAF indoor meetings in Düsseldorf and Berlin this year – two of the world’s strongest indoor events in the world – Ogunleyes discipline was added to them. “I am super grateful that the shot put has a whole new status in Germany,” she emphasizes.

On Sunday, Ogunleye is about the medals

The qualification on Saturday (10.50 a.m./EurovisionSport.com) should only be a matter of form for the Olympic champion, in the final on Sunday (5:52 p.m./EurovisionSport.com) anything but a medal would be a disappointment.

In the Netherlands, Ogunleye is one of only a few safe medal candidates of the German Athletics Association (DLV). The athletes are simply not available in width, says sports director Jörg Bügner. “And then it becomes thin in the tip.”

Mihambo and Hess as further gold hopes

After the German athletics had remained completely without precious metal at the open-air World Cup two years ago in Budapest and had experienced a historic low, the DLV at Olympia in Paris took at least a small step forward with four medals.

For Apeldoorn, the association has nominated a 37-person contingent. You want to orientate yourself less on a medal destination, but more on personal best. “And then see what it is worth in Europe,” emphasizes Bügner.

In addition to Ogunleye, the candidates on gold also include long jump star Malaika Mihambo and Dreifinger Max Hess. Both lead the world year’s best list. On the train, 800-meter runner Majie Kolberg are granted the greatest chances of precious metal. Apart from that, the DLV has to hope for positive surprises – like that of Yemisi Ogunleye in Paris.