The German track and field athletes are amazed.

Not only with the number of their successes, five titles and a total of eleven medals by Thursday evening at the European Championships in Munich, but also with the preparation.

"I haven't done a technique unit in the last two years," revealed Tobias Potye from Munich, who surprisingly finished second in the high jump on Thursday.

Michael Reinsch

Correspondent for sports in Berlin.

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Only Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy surpassed him with 2.30 meters.

The 27-year-old Potye flew over 2.27 meters like the world championship third Andrij Prozenko from Ukraine.

But unlike him, Potye didn't miss a single attempt until he was eliminated at 2.30 meters.

At the German championship in Berlin six weeks ago, Potye, 1.98 meters tall and former European U-20 champion, mastered this height for the first time.

Potye's problems

A high jumper with no technique training is just as amazing as a marathon winner with no running training.

Richard Ringer, who triumphed over the 42.195 kilometers on Monday, got in shape with a large proportion of alternative training such as cycling, swimming and cross-training.

He suffers from chronic tendon irritation in his foot.

Potye feels the same way.

"I'm struggling with the tendons," he said after his success.

"I only trained for my knees and jumped in competitions, that was the mission." Instead of going to the training camp, he spent weeks in the Red Bull Group's rehabilitation clinic for athletes in Salzburg.

His problems stem from the patella tendon in his knee.

He had to cancel the 2019 season completely because of the complaints;

he could hardly climb or descend stairs.

Without malaise and with proper training, what may come of it?

"I want to show that in 2024," replies Potye.

His goal is the Olympic Games in Paris.

It was bitter having to watch Tokyo 2021 on the couch in front of the TV.

Next year he wants to be recovered and return to normal training.

Then he wants to compete at eye level with the best.

"Beat Gianmarco"

The computer science student is not lacking in self-confidence.

Due to a job in the sports promotion of the Bundeswehr, he has the status of a full-time high jumper and is permanently absent from the university.

Potye apparently had more in mind in Munich than just winning a medal.

"Finishing second is always tricky to deal with," he said on Thursday after his competition, revealing that he sees himself as the first loser in the impulse.

"Actually, the time is ripe to beat Gianmarco.

Now I have to postpone it again.

But that will come.” Would he have shared the medal in the event of a tie like Tamberi did with Qatar's Mutaz Barshim at the Olympics?

"It wouldn't have been smart," he says, "to go into a jump-off in this weather."

Despite the rain - "I don't give a damn" - Potye was able to enjoy the home game.

Already in the qualification on golden Tuesday evening he let himself be electrified by the atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium, but then the audience belonged to the decathletes, the sprinters and the discus throwers.

Unlike five weeks ago, when Potye felt like he'd gotten up too early in the empty stadium in Eugene, Oregon, five weeks ago in qualifying for the World Championship finals, he let himself be packed on Thursday night.

"It was a bombshell," he enthused: "You have to take that with you.

If you can use it.” Mood instead of technical training?

If your knees don't want to cooperate, your head can obviously do double the work.