TORINO 2006 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, Feb 10-26

[BOREALIS]

Germany tops in Winter Games medals - again - BUT -
But country in no mood to celebrate expected Olympic success

Updated: 6:44 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2006


BERLIN - Germany once again won the most Winter Olympic medals with an impressive haul at Turin but there were no wild celebrations nor outbreaks of patriotic fervor back home in a country that has come to expect success.

German newspapers on Sunday soberly noted the country has again topped the unofficial medals table with 29 so far in Turin after 36 in Salt Lake City and 29 at Nagano.

They feted the individual stars who won Saturday’s events — biathlete Michael Greis was crowned “King Michael” for winning a third gold medal and bobsleigh driver Andre Lange was cheered for his second gold in Turin.

But there was no flag-waving in a country uncomfortable about any excessive displays of national pride even though Germans had 11 gold, 12 silver and six bronze medals going into Sunday’s competition.

Instead, there were heavy analytical examinations about the technology advantages that German winter competitors have mixed with reports reflecting worries about Germany’s weakness in core sports such as alpine skiing, figure skating and hockey.

“Triumph at the Olympics -- Germany tops the medals table,” wrote Welt am Sonntag newspaper in a page one headline.

It suggested Germany could be renamed “Biathlon-Republik Deutschland” instead of “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” thanks to biathletes, who won five gold and 11 medals in Turin.

“German medals in Turin due to ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’” wrote the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper in an editorial, borrowing the advertising slogan of a luxury German carmaker.

“As far as the success at the Winter Olympics are concerned, Germans have nothing to complain about. The success is based on a German ‘advantage through technology.’”

While some other countries were delighted with even a single medal, Germans were — in their inimitable fault-finding fashion — able to find something to complain about even in winning.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said the German success in the medals table was in large part due to “second-tier” sports, especially biathlon, luge and bobsleigh, while they have fallen further behind other countries in the main winter sports.

“The success appears to be better than it really is,” the Munich-based daily wrote. “It came mostly on the ice track, in nordic skiing and in biathlon.

“But in the core Winter Olympic sport alpine skiing Germans were far behind the best. In figure skating, we fell further behind than expected. The hockey team had nothing to offer. Germany has to be careful it doesn’t miss out on the new era.”

Katarina Witt, figure skating gold medal winner in 1984 and 1988, countered those complains in Welt am Sonntag: “We should be proud of ourselves for being the best winter sports nation.”


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11573658/