Julian Reus has been the ultimate in German sprinters for years. In addition to four European Championship medals, the 31-year-old has won almost two dozen national titles with the relay and over 60 and 100 meters; of course, he also holds the associated country records - 6.52 and 10.01 seconds. This Julian Reus has now been beaten by a sprinter twelve years younger at the German Indoor Championships in Leipzig. His name: Fabian Olbert.
Kirchheim - This 60-meter race, in which the 19-year-old Kirchheimer outperformed his big favorite by two hundredths of a second in a personal best of 6.65 seconds, should not be forgotten by Olbert so quickly. "It was a nice thing to beat the German record holder like this," says the sprinter, who starts for LG Stadtwerke München. And yet there was a small, not unimportant catch: The race in question was just the semi-final - and not the final. There, Fabian Olbert was more troubled by leg cramps, which is why he only finished seventh in 6.74 seconds.
“Overall, I'm still very happy with the weekend,” emphasizes the 19-year-old, who not only improved his 60-meter record, but also won bronze by the LG Stadtwerke München over 4x200 meters - as did the Kirchheimer Vincente Graiani , Regarding his semi-finals and the 6.65 seconds, Olbert says: “I knew I could run that. And I know that it can be done even faster. ”In the finals, the long waiting time and the two false starts would have thrown him off the track. “The hardest part of the run is the start,” says Olbert. "And after the second false start, I noticed that I was getting calf cramps." In the race, he felt a "blow to the cramp" with every step and therefore only let it run out in the end. Kirchheimer describes the fact that only seventh place in a run jumped out in which he would even have won a medal with his semi-final time. The new record is much more important to him. "It also gives me motivation to prepare for the summer season."
But first, Fabian Olbert will take a week-long break - also because he had to endure a wisdom tooth surgery on Monday. Then he looks towards the open-air season and the 100-meter distance he is aiming for under 10.30 seconds. Given his current record high of 10.45 seconds, that may sound very ambitious, says Olbert. "But I know that this is possible if, for example, I run like in Leipzig and continue to do it in the end."
In addition to setting new records, Fabian Olbert also wants to collect more medals this summer - nationally and internationally. In his last year in this age group, Kirchheimer Gold is aiming for the German U20 Championship. And then there's the U20 World Cup in Kenya, where Olbert will probably be among the medal contenders. With his 6.65 seconds, he has at least moved up to second place in the U20 leaderboard over 60 meters - worldwide, mind you.
