Dieter Baumann Criticizes Aging Leadership and Costly Systems in Athletics

The Olympic champion highlights structural issues in German athletics, including overaged officials and financial barriers in global competition.

Dieter Baumann, Olympic gold medalist from Barcelona 1992, criticized the aging leadership in German athletics, including event organizers, coaches, and referees.
Baumann warned that outdated regulations and a lack of younger officials could jeopardize the future of athletics events in Germany.
He expressed concern over the financial burden imposed by World Athletics' ranking system, which forces athletes to travel to expensive international events to qualify for major competitions.
Baumann lamented the decline of Germany's once-thriving athletics culture, describing the country as having become 'Niemandsland' (no man's land) in the sport.
He called for grassroots-driven reforms to revitalize the sport, emphasizing the need for bottom-up changes rather than top-down mandates.