Xander Schauffele hugged his exhausted papa, who by birth would have made it possible for him to start the Olympics for Germany if necessary.
“I wanted to win for him.
That means more than anything else, ”said the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist a few moments after his triumph.
One can take these words from him.
His father Stefan, born in Germany and later emigrated to the USA, was a hopeful decathlete in the early 1980s before his car was hit by a drunk's vehicle.
Stefan Schauffele suffered serious injuries, including going blind in his left eye.
The career was over, the big Olympic dreams burst.
In his depression he turned to alcohol first.
Schauffele got rid of this demon, crossed the pond - and a curious multinational story began.
Stefan Schauffele, who has German and French roots, married a woman of Taiwanese-Japanese origin in the USA - which is why Xander Schauffele, who was born in San Diego in 1993, had a few options before the Tokyo Games.
Ultimately, he made it into the US squad of four. After Martin Kaymer's resignation because of the “complicated circumstances”, Düsseldorf's Maximilian Kieffer and Hurly Long (St. Leon-Rot) tried each other for Germany. They played no (main) role during the entire four rounds at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Anders Schauffele, number five in the world rankings, who took the lead in the course of the second round and successfully defended it.
However, sporting success is in Schauffele's genes.
A great-grandfather, Johann Hoffmann, was an Austrian national soccer player and won championships with four different clubs.
Another great grandpa, Richard Schauffele, kicked the ball for VfB Stuttgart before switching to athletics at the age of 25 and winning more than 40 Baden-Württemberg championship titles in discus, javelin and shot put.
Stefan Schauffele, the grandson of the two, accompanies his son Xander's career as a swing trainer, which is why he was allowed to take part in the golf triumph despite the strict Corona protocol.
Unlike his wife Maya, who married Xander Schauffele in early July.
And different from his grandparents who live in Tokyo.
Quite an international family.
The silver medalist is also a cosmopolitan. Rory Sabbatini was born in Durban / South Africa, he has a British and American passport, but has been working for Slovakia, the home of his wife, since 2018.