Konstanze Klosterhalfen has not contested a race in Germany since last summer. That should actually change in the late season - the late season - of the athletes. But nothing will come of the initially planned start in Monte Carlo.
Monte Carlo (dpa) - Still many questions and no sporty answer for the time being: Running star Konstanze Klosterhalfen has to postpone the planned start of her European tour.
Due to an overload reaction in the pool area, the third place in the World Cup from TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen will not take part in the 5000 meter race at the Diamond League meeting of athletes on August 14th in Monte Carlo. On this route she won bronze at the World Championships in Doha.
"I was really looking forward to the entry and the race in Monaco and hoped to participate until the end. We trained very well after the short indoor season and focused on a fortunately occurring late season," said Klosterhalfen in one Communication of your management. The 23-year-old is currently being treated in Salzburg. "When we noticed the findings about two weeks ago, we reacted immediately and adjusted the load accordingly," she said.
The cancellation was "a pure precaution," explained her manager Dany Biegler. Klosterhalfen continued to train with Pete Julian in Oregon throughout the year and also during the Corona crisis.
The exceptional talent does not currently answer questions about her shape, her personal situation, the disbanded Nike Oregon Project (NOP), her plans, the postponed Olympic Games or perhaps Donald Trump's policy in the pandemic: She has been from her management since For months. "Koko", as she is called in the scene, remains something like the phantom of German athletics.
After the now canceled start in Monaco, more competitions were actually planned, including starts in Germany. This was recently announced by Idriss Gonschinska, General Director of the German Athletics Association (DLV). According to dpa information, the organizers of the Istaf in Berlin (September 13th) and the meeting in Dessau (September 8th) want to commit Klosterhalfen. It remains to be seen what will become of it.
In the winter, Klosterhalfen only had a shortened indoor season - in the USA. In doing so, she pulverized the European record in Boston over the 5000 meters (14: 30.79 minutes), which is rare in the hall.
The week before last, Klosterhalfen flew to Europe after having found the best training conditions on the Nike campus near Portland. The NOP was dissolved after the doping scandal surrounding the suspended star coach Alberto Salazar. But Klosterhalfen, who continues to train with the former Salazar assistant Julian, kept her way in preparing for the Olympics.
Oliver Mintzlaff, the managing director of the Bundesliga soccer club RB Leipzig and an influential man in the background at Klosterhalfen, advised her to do so. He asked her whether she could stand the media pressure or whether she would prefer another solution. "It was clear to her that she wanted to stay there," Mintzlaff told the "General Anzeiger" at the beginning of the Corona crisis.
In her adopted home, Klosterhalfen has contested a few private races. She decided not to start at the German athletics championships last weekend in Braunschweig - "due to the currently difficult circumstances with regard to travel planning and the associated overall organization," as it was called at the time.
The DLV did not meet with any particular enthusiasm. It was said that one or two athletes would have competed more in the ghost championships. However, those responsible for the association did not mention the name Klosterhalfen in this context. Johannes Vetter did the same: The thrust of the criticism of the javelin world champion from 2017 ("What kind of message is that, if our figureheads fit?") Clearly went in their direction. But the complaints may also have been the reason for their absence.
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