He didn't want to appear "too greedy" and therefore "take and appreciate" his first international medal.

But the silver medal at the European Athletics Championships for Bo Kanda Lita Baehre should not be the end of all flights of fancy.

"I'm burning to be the best," said the 23-year-old from the Rhineland late on Saturday evening in the catacombs of Munich's Olympic Stadium.

Achim Dreis

sports editor.

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The fact that he has to act with a handicap in his efforts to one day be at the top of the podium and to be able to overcome the magical six meters on the way there, he does not want to accept as an excuse for possible detours and setbacks.

Bo Kanda Lita Baehre was born in Düsseldorf in 1999 with a serious eye disease.

"Not always easy"

"I had cataracts," he says, the lens was removed when he was two weeks old.

His sight in the left eye is now 30 percent.

"If you don't know any different, you don't know how it is different," he says about the limitation of spatial vision, which seems to be quite relevant in his complicated sport.

"It wasn't always easy, but it makes me who I am," says the son of a German mother and a Congolese father.

His "fighter heart" trumps his eye problem: "I will not let it limit me."

In an effort to become the best in the world, he even changed coaches shortly before the European Championships.

He parted ways with his longtime trainer Christine Adams after the World Cup four weeks ago, where he finished seventh.

Now he was looked after by Munich's Chauncey Johnson, who first proved himself while sightseeing in downtown Munich and then in the Olympic Stadium.

However, the Rhinelander does not want to move to Bavaria for training.

"I'm definitely going to South Africa," he announced, referring to his African roots.

In the final, the wildly tattooed athlete, who always appeared in a pirate's scarf, was the only one who at least challenged the current dominator of pole vaulting - without being able to endanger him in the end.

While the Swede Armand Duplantis climbed up to the championship record of 6.06 meters without a failed attempt after only five jumps - and it never looked as if he really had to make an effort - the 1.93 meter tall model athlete finished the Competition with two "poop attempts", as Bo Kanda Lita Baehre put it himself.

The mood in the Olympic Stadium did not detract from the final failure of the best German.

In the wet and cold weather, the spectators were enthusiastic about the fire of the young athlete, who catapulted himself into the medal ranks thanks to an excellent second jump of 5.85.

Discrepancy between inside and outside

Although he learned at the latest during the ghost competitions during the pandemic that he can perform without outside encouragement - despite his exalted appearance, he doesn't need the show - he still tries to interact with the people in the stands during competitions.

"Of course you have to find your focus," he says, describing the discrepancy between inside and outside.

But if there is a supportive audience, "you should use it".

In his efforts to be a fair sportsman, he had to contend with another problem: "I was very euphoric at 5.85 - but the medal wasn't decided yet," he reviewed the evening.

"Then the others failed", so his silver was safe, "but you can't be happy about that, it comes across as funny".

Lita Baehre doesn't go along with the camaraderie that is quite common among pole vaulters: "I'm a loner, I don't have any friends in the competition," he says about his standing within the group.

The others already knew that he “doesn’t need any small talk in competitions”.

"I have to beat everyone", so he doesn't want to "let the competitors get too close".