Germany’s athletics team pick Malaysia as training base for WA relay challenge

PETALING JAYA: The German athletics squad have selected Malaysia as their training base ahead of the upcoming World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China from May 10-11.

German Athletics Programme secretariat Joerg Teichmann said the German athletics squad will train in Kuala Lumpur for four weeks as part of their intensive preparation for the global relay event.

The team will consist of over 47 individuals, including athletes, coaches, physiotherapists and doctors, and are expected to arrive in batches from Friday onwards.

He added that this visit also aims to promote knowledge-sharing and strengthen cooperation among athletes from Malaysia and Germany.

“This is the first time a German national track and field team are coming to Malaysia for a long time, not only for one or two weeks, but four weeks,” said Teichmann.

“It’s a great pleasure for our Malaysian athletes to train together, come into a cooperation, exchanging knowledge and maybe even setting up exchange programmes.

“We (Malaysian Athletics Federation) are looking forward to a long-term (collaboration) where Kuala Lumpur can be a hope for high performance especially in track and field.

“I believe the Germans (German Athletics Association) are willing to help in everything we have, especially their sport science is quite high and everyone in specialised,” he said.

Teichmann revealed that the German athletes training here include Rebekka Haase, Lisa Mayer and Sophia Junk, the women’s 4x100m relay squad who clinched bronze at the Paris Olympics, as well as Owen Ansah, the first German sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m, along with other top sprinters.

Meanwhile, Teichmann said that Malaysia’s selection as the training ground was no coincidence.

“In the early 2000s, many Malaysian athletes such as women’s 400m hurdler Noraseela Mohd Khalid and women’s 100m hurdler Moh Siew Wei trained in Germany, and it was very successful in the 2006 Asian Games.