Olympic champion rises: Now confirmed: Pechstein is the new national speed skating coach

“Ms. Pechstein has an exceptionally long-standing and internationally outstanding experience in speed skating,” said the DESG. Added to this are her strong professional roots in the sport as well as her many years of experience in the national and international top sports environment as well as the successful completion of a qualified trainer course at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) coaching academy.

Reason for Pechstein’s promotion

“These objectively identifiable qualifications make her a coaching personality whose professional background must be taken into account in particular when filling the position of national all-round coach and who appears to be uniquely predestined for this position,” the association explained the decision.

was made possible Pechstein’s promotion through the new position as federal base trainer in Inzell, which the Canadian Mike Hall takes over at the same time. In addition, the Pole Paweł Abratkiewicz was also hired as the new national sprint coach on August 1st. The DESG did not provide any information about the duration of the contracts.

Background to the structural reform

In the communication, the DESG Executive Board thanked the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Office of Administration and the DOSB for their approval of this personnel realignment. “This coaching line-up is a clear commitment: We want to get back to the top of the world – and we are now creating not only the structural but also the personnel requirements for this,” said association boss Matthias Große. Pechstein is his partner.

The DESG recently caused a stir with a structural reform. This envisages a concentration of the federal squad on the locations Inzell for all-around and long-distance competitions and Berlin for sprints. According to the decision of the DESG Executive Board, the other two federal bases in Erfurt and Chemnitz should “take on a central role, particularly in the youth sector”. As a result, the squad athletes from Erfurt refused to sign an athlete agreement without additional conditions that was supposed to seal the new structure.

After a crisis summit between the Thuringian State Chancellery, the DESG, the Thuringian regional association, members of the Bundestag’s sports committee and the affected athletes, the plans were put on hold for the time being. The moratorium should apply until the DOSB’s structural talks with the Federal Chancellery are completed in August.