You were a top athlete yourself and took part in three Olympic Games. Do you approach the competition differently than usual?
Yes, it’s different, it’s bigger. No one needs to tell me that this is a competition like any other. It does something to you.
Sport has become a billion-dollar business and a mega event. Have we lost sport a little – to corporations, governments?
Sport has always been political to a certain extent. There is nothing wrong with generating more money – if the money goes to the right place. But if it is primarily people who actually have nothing to do with sport who benefit, then I am very skeptical. The athletes should be much more involved in these processes and benefit more from them. I hope that after the Olympic Games, the whole of France will look back on this time with fondness and that the whole of French society will benefit from it. There is a lot of money in circulation. And you can achieve so much positive with it.
In what way?
The athletes are the ones who made the Olympics great. Their emotions and the interaction of all nations in fair competition are the most important messages that should be sent out in a world that has gone off the rails. This does not require gigantic stadiums or inflated competitions. It is about reaching the hearts of all spectators, because people create the spirit that makes the Olympic Games unforgettable.
What added value does this attention have?
I believe that we should focus much more on how to motivate children to do sport and exercise on a broad scale. A child who follows the Olympic Games and then wants to go out and try out the sports, that would be the right approach for me – because I believe that sport is still the most important life lesson for children.
You also keep talking about the climate. Do you have hope that sporting events will become more climate-friendly again?
For me, major events are something of fundamental importance. Not just for sport, but also for society, because you can move and emotionally reach many people with them. But it doesn’t always have to be gigantic, more pompous. If you think “normally” and try to select Olympic venues from the outset with sustainability as the primary premise and give them the freedom they need, then the Olympic Games could also be a pioneer for responsible climate protection. When I say something like that, people always say: “The Neureuther is now a climate activist,” which is nonsense. With contemporary common sense and appropriate, understandable measures, we can convince more people and achieve more for sustainability than with fundamental thinking. The multi-European Championships and the football EURO in Germany have shown this.
What summer sport do you like best?
Golf, actually (smiles). I’ve mutated into a golfer.
What do you like about golf?
That you can challenge yourself. You feel like you’re back in your active career – just in a different field. The unique thing about golf is when you hold a club in your hand for the first time and you push the ball – with a bit of luck it goes 100 meters and into the hole. As a beginner you can be better on a hole than the best golfer in the world. By luck, of course, but it’s possible. And you have that in very few sports.