You can be an athlete performing all alone against your competitors, and a member of team too. Simon Albrecht gave an example for this at the IWGA press conference on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Speed Skater won two gold medals and one in silver. He did it all alone at the Millennium Park Venue following his tactic to control the opponents by taking the lead as soon as possible.
Being a one man band on the track, does not mean that he feels isolated as a member of the team Germany. "There were some athletes from other sports that made it to the track to support me. Afterwards we celebrated the medals as a team. We have an eye on how the others do, and send congratulations on Facebook. We really feel like a team."
The German DOSB (the National Olympic Committee is also responsible for the non-Olympic sports) took some efforts to create this team spirit. Dirk Schimmelpfenning, head of the DOSB-Delegation, described his "Team Deutschland" In the press conference, hosted by IWGA Media Director, he explained:
"There 186 team members, not only athletes, but also coaches, officials and a services team behind it. We are not only a big team but also a strong team. However "Team Deutschland" is more than numbers, it's a newly launched project: "The World Games are the first event of this special project. We created the idea of a Team Deutschland for all multi-sports events including the Youth Olympics and the Olympic Games. We want this team to create internal and external effects."
Internal means for example to develop, the team spirit within the group. To make this happen we established a German house here in Wroclaw and we invited all athletes and all the others yesterday to a German evening at this place. The Fistball Team celebrated its gold medal very enthusiastically with their teammates. We want to give them the feeling: We are Team Germany. Talking about the external impact when creating a brand such as Team Deutschland. Dirk Schimmelpfenning:
"We have in mind a particular kind of profile: that German athletes stand for success, respect, fairness and passion." Bringing these qualities to the team, has already shown some good effects.
The Chef de Mission stated.
In addition to this the DOSB promotes the athletes by issuing press releases, doing a lot on Twitter or Facebook. Raising awareness for athletes and sports of high quality that are not normally in the limelight works out easier with the brand Team Germany.
IWGA President Jose Perurena appreciated the effort of the German DOSB, insupporting its athletes at the Games. He could also speak firsthand about the team spirit and the positive atmosphere:
"I took in the German evening yesterday. I had really great time enjoying how the athletes had fun. They know how to party. Everyone could see that they are one team."
By the way: these efforts are paying off when it comes to the medal tally: On Wednesday morning, Germany has already won 26 medals (10 gold, 8 silver, 8 bronze) and is chasing Italy for second place.
