Disappointment in Markkleeberg too: Canoe park misses out on the Olympics

Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar: Zum deutschen Artikel.

Saturday afternoon. Markkleeberg Canoe Park. The sun is shining. The mayor is not smiling. Karsten Schütze (SPD) and a few of his colleagues had just learnt via a live stream of the decision regarding Germany’s official Olympic bid: it is Munich. Right up until the last moment, the mayor’s hopes had rested on Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr, as the Markkleeberg whitewater facility had been firmly included in that region’s Olympic bid as the venue for canoe slalom and kayak cross. That’s not going to happen now. Or is it?

Together with staff from Markkleeberg Town Council, Leipzig’s Olympic Office Director Stefan Schedler and former Olympian Jan Benzien, Mayor Karsten Schütze watched the German Olympic Sports Confederation’s announcement event in Baden-Baden live on his laptop from the lakeside terrace at the Canoe Park. All eyes were fixed intently on the small screen. Would the miracle come true? At exactly 2.45 pm, it became clear: unfortunately not. Disappointed, Schütze slumped back into his chair.

“Of course we’re disappointed,” the 59-year-old said, not mincing his words. “From a sports policy perspective, I don’t think the decision is right, because the whole of eastern Germany has been left out of the bid. The Rhine-Ruhr bid had the appeal of being a pan-German bid, which, with Warnemünde and the Canoe Park, also took the eastern part of the country into account. Unfortunately, that is not the case in Munich.” And he adds: “I think it’s a shame that this historic opportunity wasn’t seized to host the Olympic Games across the whole of Germany for the first time since reunification. This is certainly a disadvantage for eastern Germany.”

No Olympic Games at the Markkleeberg Canoe Park. Photo: Jan Kaefer

Even though it was still difficult to accept at that moment, Karsten Schütze knew how to take this defeat in his stride: “But we’re big enough to congratulate Munich, of course,” he emphasised. “The main thing is that Germany is hosting the Olympic Games. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where they take place. The Olympic Games are a unique event; there’s a real sense of enthusiasm behind them. And if I manage to make it at an older age, I’ll certainly be there in Munich too.”

The mayor would nevertheless like to keep the Olympic door open for Markkleeberg, if only a tiny crack. Because: “There are only two competition venues in the whole of Germany that meet international standards for canoe slalom and kayak cross. Augsburg has the problem of not having enough water and would have to invest a lot of money there. The Free State of Bavaria must decide whether to pour a lot of money into that or perhaps have a chat with Markkleeberg after all. We’re ready to make our canoe park available, even if Munich has been awarded the bid.”

Stefan Schedler (Leipzig Olympic Office) and Karsten Schütze (Mayor of Markkleeberg) had hoped in vain for an Olympic decision in favour of Cologne/Rhine-Ruhr. Photo: Jan Kaefer

For Stefan Schedler, head of the Leipzig Olympic Office, this decision marked his second defeat in the space of just one week. “It was, without a doubt, a tough week,” he admitted.

“The disappointment is immense. Especially as Berlin had already withdrawn its bid earlier this week. However, we still stand by the fact that, on our own initiative, backing Berlin was absolutely the right decision. In my opinion, that concept would have had the greatest international appeal and the best chance of success. But that’s water under the bridge. We’ve now entered the race with Markkleeberg and the Rhine-Ruhr region. That didn’t work out either.” Yet even he still harbours a glimmer of hope that Bavaria might, in the end, fall back on the Markkleeberg sports complex after all.