Germany is one of the few countries to have almost completely finalised their Olympic team. All three of their women’s slots have been allocated while only one slot remains on the men’s side. As the defending world champions in the Mixed Team Relay, they have secured, at minimum, two male and two female places at the Games. Such is the state of the Olympic Qualification rankings, though, adding a third male and female slot will be a formality.
Like America, Germany could come away with medals in all three Olympic races. In addition to their Mixed Team Relay world title, they can call upon medallists from the Paris Test Event and WTCS Pontevedra. Moreover, they were the only country in the world to have medalled at all three events last year.
At the same time, Germany came away empty-handed at the last Olympic Games. They will therefore hope to avoid a repeat in Paris this summer.
Who has been selected already?
Laura Lindemann put herself on a third straight Olympic team by winning the bronze medal at the Paris Test Event. While Lindemann had multiple WTCS medals to her name prior to the race, her podium in Paris was her first at the highest level to come outside of Hamburg. Given her stellar performance at the Test Event, she will likely be in the hunt for a medal at the real thing.
Nina Eim also booked her ticket to the Olympic Games by finishing 6th in Paris. Not only did the result put her on the Olympic team, it stood as Eim’s personal best WTCS finish.
While Eim came away with her Olympic spot, Lisa Tertsch narrowly missed out having been in contention to claim the second German spot for much of the run. It would prove only a fleeting setback. Tertsch powered to 4th place in Pontevedra to confirm her place on the German team and in doing so locked out the women’s team before 2024 had even started.
On the men’s side, Tim Hellwig became the first German man to punch his Olympic ticket by finishing 7th in Paris. Although that performance hit the relevant selection criteria, he went even better in Pontevedra by finishing 2nd. With eye-catching performances at both selection races, Hellwig will doubtless be a big player at the Games this season.
Lasse Lührs then claimed 5th placed in Pontevedra to likewise ink his name onto the team list. Injury disrupted the start of Lührs’ season so with a healthier build-up to the summer he will likely reassert his credentials as a WTCS medallist.
As things stand, the German team contains four WTCS medallists while Eim is a World Cup winner. An impressive line-up has thus been assembled and the squad will look to build upon a successful 2023.
Who could take the remaining slots?
In light of the above selections, the question here is simple. Which man will take the third and final slot?
As things stand, Germany has four men inside the top-30 of the Olympic Qualification rankings and the qualification of a third man is close to guaranteed. Under the German selection policy, the slot will go to the best ranked non-selected athlete in the top-30 of the Olympic rankings.
The battle, then, is a head-to-head between Jonas Schomburg, ranked 17th, and Lasse Nygaard Priester, ranked 25th.
Had Schomburg finished in the top-12 overall in the 2023 WTCS, he would have already been selected. In the end, Hellwig was the only German man to make it into the top-12 (finishing 8th; Schomburg finished 17th) but seeing as he was already on the Olympic team the selection clause was moot.
Turning to the Olympic rankings, the current standings put Schomburg in the box seat.
Schomburg has 4136 points with a full quota of races. He recorded six scores in each of the two periods of qualification. Meanwhile, Priester has 3294 points. However, his score is compromised insofar that he only logged three scores in First Period of Olympic qualification. He has since maxed out his Second Period with eight scores. An athlete may only record a maximum of eight scores per period (and twelve in total). Hence Priester will be at a one race disadvantage to Schomburg irrespective of their results.
Schomburg’s highlights include a 2023 WTCS personal best of 6th place in Cagliari and a maiden World Cup medal in Karlovy Vary. If there was ever a time to deliver career-best results, the final window of Olympic qualification was it.
Priester’s top score comes courtesy of his 11th place at WTCS Pontevedra. Furthermore, he claimed a hat-trick of World Cup medals in the autumn of 2023.
At this point in the cycle, the most important factor will be the scope to improve existing scores. With their quotas full, neither Schomburg nor Priester will get any “free hits”; they can only gain points by bettering upon what they have already achieved.
To that end, Priester has the greater headspace. He has three Second Period scores of under 200 points. A big start to the WTCS season could easily see him turn those into three scores of 500 points or better. If he accomplished that and Schomburg does not improve on his scores, then, Priester would overtake his rival.
Crucially, Schomburg has no scores under 200 points among his twelve counting results. As a result, it potentially could be harder to improve his current total.
With a lead of over 800 points and a one race advantage, Schomburg can be confident of holding off Priester. Yet Priester also has two top-5 WTCS finishes to his name and proved in Pontevedra that he is capable of logging the 500+ point scores he requires.
When it comes to the final German slot, the question is simple but the answer is complex. It will likely go down to the wire and could even be decided at the final race of the qualifying window in Cagliari. The front-runner or the chaser: who is your money on?
