In the future, someone who is largely unknown in top-class sport will be responsible for the performance of the German Olympic teams.

Olaf Tabor, who has been the general manager of the German Alpine Club based in Munich for ten years, will succeed Dirk Schimmelpfennig as head of the competitive sports division on the board of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).

The presidium of the DOSB, headed by Thomas Weikert, decided this last week.

Michael Reinsch

Correspondent for sports in Berlin.

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The 52-year-old sports and natural scientist Tabor is familiar with Olympic and non-Olympic top-level sport. Climbing (Tokyo 2021) and ski mountaineering (Milan and Cortina 2026) were recently included in the Olympias program.

From 2003 to 2012 Tabor was General Secretary of the General German University Sports Association.

Skiers and whitewater canoeists

He has a doctorate in sports science and has state exams in geography and biology.

During his time at the Alpenverein, the world's largest mountaineering association with 1.4 million members, he temporarily managed the Summit Club, the organisation's travel company.

He is also the managing director of the association's competitive sport GmbH, a non-profit organization promoting top-class sport.

The Alpine Club, which is more than 150 years old, only receives start-up funding from the federal government in top-class Olympic sport.

Because it has 323 mountain and shelter huts in its 355 sections, operates around 180 climbing halls and facilities and has therefore built up high reserves, the subsidiarity check of the Federal Office of Administration was negative.

The Alpine Club is too wealthy to be supported by the state in the long term.

Munich's Olympic bid was controversial in the Alpine Club: he supported the first bid for the 2018 Winter Games, but rejected the second for the 2022 Games.

Tabor was born in El Paso, Texas, and English is his second native language.

He is a skier and whitewater canoeist.

It has not yet been decided when he will take up the position in Frankfurt.

Schimmelpfennig's contract expired last year after seven years.