After more than ten years of litigation, Claudia Pechstein has finally scored a major success. The speed skater had been banned for two years on suspicion of doping and had sued for damages and compensation for pain and suffering. Since Pechstein had been found to have a hereditary blood anomaly that could explain the elevated blood values in the doping test, the ban had been controversial. Now the five-time Olympic champion surprisingly got right before the Federal Constitutional Court and wants to go to civil court. "I was humiliated and publicly executed," Pechstein said after the ruling. She said it was an incredible relief to now be allowed to sue in court. We hope for her that she will soon be able to close this chapter completely.
Mohamed Farah has helped Britain win four Olympic gold medals in long-distance running while becoming one of the world's best-known track and field athletes. Now Farah is coming clean about his identity and past. In a BBC documentary, he reported that his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin. At the age of nine, he was abducted from Somalia to Europe under a false name and lived there in slave-like conditions. Why is he going public with this after all these years? As a role model for his children. "As a parent, you teach your children to be honest," he said. Clearly good news for us - and also that Farah's life could develop for the better through sport.
Olaf Scholz called for equal pay for national team players on Twitter before the kickoff of the German women's national team's preliminary round match in the European Championship. Men and women should finally be paid equally, he said, and Spain, the opponent that evening, was a role model in this respect. There, a collective agreement including maternity protection has been in place since the end of 2019. And recently, national player Lina Magull told the Bild newspaper: "We should earn so well from the second league that no one has to go to work on the side." There's still a long way to go before that happens - but a sustained dialogue about equal pay for female players could be the start.
Brazilian Fifa referee Igor Benevenuto has come out of the closet. That in itself is courageous and something that not everyone in the sports world dares to do. On top of that, however, murders of gays keep making headlines in Brazil. He is also being considered as a video referee for Qatar - a country that is also known for its homophobia. So our hats are off to Benevenuto for making a statement here. "I've spent my life sacrificing myself to protect myself from the physical and emotional violence of homophobia," the 41-year-old said in a podcast. "I want to be able to have relationships, I want to be a referee in peace," Benevenuto said.
Like father, like son: For Mick Schuhmacher, Michael Schuhmacher's son, the first successes are setting in. Formula 1 fans named him "Driver of the Day" after the race in Spielberg. The second time in a row in the points, plus an ever-improving driving performance. With 6th place, he achieved a new best in his career. On Sky he said, "I'm very happy with the car and we're moving closer to the top teams." We're excited to see what else we'll see from him in the future.
Not everyone can win the World Cup at the age of 20. Alexandra Föster surprised everyone (and probably herself) when she took first place in the single sculls in Lucerne. And she worked hard for this ranking. Because she unfortunately missed the award ceremony because she was at the doctor's due to a collapse. "I didn't spare myself and gave everything," she said about it. But it was worth it to her: "That was awesome. In the race I only concentrated on myself and didn't even notice that I was in front," Föster said about her victory. Well then: Congratulations!
A rather unusual transfer: all three sons of the Hentcho Nseke family and their father are moving to FC Bayern. How did that happen? Originally, the club only wanted to bring 14-year-old son Aristide from Mainz to Munich - he is considered an absolute exceptional talent on the pitch. But the parents insisted that the family stay together, and so twelve-year-old Aviel and nine-year-old Alex were also signed up. And the father will also be working for the FCB in talent development in the future. A huge step for the whole family. Alex writes on Instagram: "A new chapter begins. I'm grateful and looking forward to the new adventure."
