Still lying flat two weeks ago: Corona boys deliver medical miracles

Created: 08/17/2022, 12:50 p.m

By: Gunter Klein

It works: Without any medal pressure and at the age of 33, Christopher Linke got his first individual medal.

AFP/Tobias Schwarz © TOBIAS SCHWARZ

Two weeks ago Christopher Linke was corona positive and was flat.

Now he took silver and Jonathan Hilbert was fifth.

Munich – The team doctor said to the walker Christopher Linke: "From a medical point of view you are operational, but don't get your hopes up." Linke caught Eugene Corona at the World Cup, he looks back: "I was positive for nine days, and three days I had it really great.

My cell phone fell behind the bed and I couldn't pick it up on my own." Seen in this way, it was a small medical miracle that the man from Potsdam won an individual medal for the first time at the European Championships: Silver over the 35 kilometers in a personal best of 2:29 :30 hours.

Although it wasn't like he was floating up and down Munich's Ludwigstrasse on a cloud.

"I had shin splints, a typical walking disease, and had to take painkillers at kilometers 6 and 10", and also the last ten kilometers, where his success behind the Spaniard Miguel Angel Lopez (2:26:49) was indicated, "I couldn't enjoy it “.

Ultimately, the 33-year-old attributed his success to "the fact that I went in easily and broke away from the medal pressure".

He's one who has seemed subscribed to fifth and at times fourth place finishes at major events in his career.

But maybe it all worked out – one can be superstitious – because the evening before he met the European marathon champion Richard Ringer at the hotel elevator and congratulated his former roommate (“Zu U20-Zeiten”) on the gold.

Ringer said: "I wish you the same." Linke: "Hey, you won." Ringer: "Then I wish you good legs – I didn't have any." that it started extremely slowly.

The first two or three kilometers were tough.”

Fifth was Jonathan Hilbert (2:32:44), the silver medalist from Tokyo in the 50 kilometers. The traditional longest distance in athletics was canceled and replaced by the 35 - which stirred up the little scene.

“With the success I've had, it's painful when you're taken off the track.

It takes a year or two to get used to a distance.

Last year I made it to perfection for the first time in my 50s.”

But Hilbert wasn't dissatisfied even without a European Championship medal: "After Tokyo I was pretty exhausted mentally, I started the new season late and it was tough.

The body reported every two weeks. ”A month ago with Corona, it was his turn just before Linke, he didn’t even travel to the World Cup.

And now they are back: the Corona Boys.