From canoeing to long jump: Germany’s accomplishments at the Olympics
The Olympic Games reflect the diversity of sport. Germany is hoping to win medals in various disciplines at the Olympics in Paris.
German athletes will be competing in almost all of the 32 sports at the Olympic Games in Paris. Even though football is the number one sport in Germany, it is a sporting nation of huge diversity overall.
Germany as a diverse sporting nation
Germany is home to some 87,000 sports clubs with nearly 28 million members. Soccer is particularly prominent: with more than seven million members in around 24,000 clubs, the German Football Association is by far the largest sports association. But the German Gymnastics Federation comes second with almost five million members. Almost 1.5 million people are registered in a tennis club, while more than 750,000 sports enthusiasts officially pursue athletics. This wide range is only possible thanks to the commitment and dedication of around eight million volunteers.
Germany’s accomplishments at the Olympic Games
Germany is one of the most successful nations at both the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics. It ranked ninth in the medals table at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo and finished second at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Hopes for medals in Paris are pinned on long jumper Malaika Mihambo and the basketball team led by superstar Dennis Schröder.
The most successful German athlete at the Summer Olympics is canoeist Birgit Fischer: she won her first gold in 1980 while still wearing the jersey of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), and she gained the last of her eight gold medals 14 years after German reunification in Athens in 2004. With seven gold medals, dressage rider Isabell Werth is the second most successful athlete. At the age of 55, she will be taking part in her seventh Olympic Games in Paris.
Olympic Games in Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany hosted the 1972 Olympic Games, which were held in Munich. They began as a cheerful Games but were overshadowed by an assassination attempt on the Israeli Olympic team. Eleven team members and one German police officer were killed. Germany has not hosted the Olympic Games since then. There is talk of applying for the 2036 or 2040 Olympics.
