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Franziska van Almsick (archive picture): »I'm afraid of summer«
Photo: imago images / Stefan Schmidbauer
Former swimming world champion Franziska van Almsick has warned of the consequences of the pool closures during the corona pandemic.
"The effects on swimming are devastating," she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The 43-year-old explained: "I assume that we have a lost generation of children who do not even learn to swim."
Even before the pandemic, statistics from the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) showed that every second third grader could not swim safely.
"I don't want to over-dramatize that, but I'm very afraid of the summer because I think many people totally underestimate it at the moment."
For months, only cadre swimmers have been allowed to train, especially at Olympic bases.
Popular sport has practically come to a complete standstill.
The "element of water" was "totally underestimated" in the pandemic, said van Almsick.
She also criticized politicians for this: "You could have reacted differently." Many swimming pools are aware of the situation and have good hygiene concepts.
"But in Germany, when everything is closed, the bathrooms stay closed," said van Almsick.
"You don't really care whether there should be an exception for one sport or another, for one or the other group of people."
"How can you ever make up for that?"
The former professional athlete believes the effects will be felt over the long term.
“How are you supposed to make up for that?
When a five or six year old child wants to take a swimming course today, there are immensely long waiting lists «.
Even before the pandemic, many children no longer had the opportunity to learn to swim because there were no bodies of water and many baths were closed.
“Now it doesn't work any more.
That is worrying. "
jpz / sid