The German Indoor Athletics Championships will take place in Halle this weekend. For high jumper Tobias Potye, the competitions are "a warm-up program". For higher goals.
Aschheim - When Tobias Potye starts this Sunday at the German Indoor Championships, there is a year to forget behind the high jumper from Aschheim - but also a competition that gives hope. At the end of 2018, it looked as if everything should go like clockwork for the 24-year-old. The U20 European champion from 2013 had set its best mark at 2.27 meters, had become German runner-up, had participated in the European Championships in Berlin and was therefore well on the way to Tokyo 2020.
But after this best season of his career, the worst setback came. Because of knee problems, Potye had to cancel all indoor competitions. In the spring he decided with a heavy heart to suspend the entire season due to persistent complaints on the patella tendon - “to really cure my knee”, as he says. What followed was painful months, which Potye sums up in three words, which he expresses in a devastating tone: "Twenty-eight weeks of rehabilitation!" and progress at a snail's pace.
End of career was never an issue
"It was draining from my patience and mood," admits Potye. However, he never thought of the end of his career - also because he always had the big goal of Olympia in mind, which is why he decided to take this break. At the end of December, the Aschheimer, who has been with LG Stadtwerke München since 2015, was able to jump painlessly for the first time. Shortly afterwards, Potye started his first competition after a good one-year break, but the next setback followed a little later: An injured fascia in the spring foot slowed down the 1.98-meter Schlaks again. "That cost me a couple of weeks in training," Potye quarrels.
Now the 24-year-old is traveling to Leipzig "without great expectations" at the weekend. After all, the entire indoor season is just a warm-up for him anyway "before I want to attack in the summer," says Potye - on the one hand. On the other hand, a good result in Leipzig would also be valuable with regard to Tokyo 2020. Because for the first time at these Olympic Games, the starting places are not only allocated via a fixed standard, which is a whopping 2.33 meters in the high jump. But the athletes can also get their Olympic ticket via a points system - and here the German Championship counts far more than other competitions.
Training camp in South Africa
What gave Tobias Potye hope for the weekend and beyond was his appearance at the spring meeting in Wuppertal at the end of January. The student not only sailed over 2.20 meters, but his attempts over 2.23 meters were “actually over”, says Potye. "Those were just a few routine things that were still missing." This achievement is all the more remarkable when you consider the long period of suffering of the high jumper. "For me, the point now is to restore the level that I had at the end of 2018," says Potye. "And then of course Olympia is my goal. You don't need to talk about it."
In preparation for the summer season, Potye will travel to the training camp in South Africa in early March. Before that, of course, the gig in Leipzig is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. And regardless of the condition in which he will compete - the anticipation is immense, he emphasizes. "If you only watched from outside for a year, then you have all the more desire to jump in again."
