Ansah defends 100-meter title with authority despite doping proceedings

Ansah most recently trained in Mannheim and belongs to Hamburger SV. He is the only German to have ever run the sprint showpiece event under ten seconds. "My performance stands. I wanted to show everyone that I'm the fastest German," he said. The 25-year-old also defended his immediate future: "Coach, management, federation and lawyer would stand behind him," read a statement from his lawyer Rainer Tarek Cherkeh, who announced that Ansah would make a comprehensive statement to Nada. On competition day, he was then tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Expert speculation — Ansah hits back

"This year I trained extra hard to bring times like these here," said Ansah, who had been invited as a late replacement to the Diamond League meeting in Monaco. That the mood before the start was demanding in more than just sporting terms was hinted at by ARD expert Frank Busemann. "If you've got a bit of sand in the gears there, you immediately run two tenths slower," the former decathlete had speculated before the championships. Ansah countered with a time that clearly disproved that prognosis. The German championships are the final stress test ahead of the European Championships in Birmingham, where Ansah is considered an indispensable part of the German sprint relay team.

Behind Ansah, Heiko Gussmann (Wetzlar) sprinted to second place with a home record of 10.06 seconds, and Kevin Kranz (Wetzlar) took third in 10.16 seconds. In the 110-meter hurdles, Gregory Minoue from Bonn cracked the confirmation standard for Birmingham with his victory in 13.51 seconds. On Sunday (from 11:55 a.m. in the live stream at sportschau.de), the final day of the championships takes place at the Lohrheidestadion.

Home victory through Ernst in the women's race

In the women's race, 22-year-old local heroine Jolina Ernst from TV Wattenscheid 01 delivered a home victory. "With 11.26 seconds, she ran a personal best at exactly the right moment," the report said. Behind Ernst, Emma Goretzka from Berlin crossed the line in the same time of 11.26 seconds but was measured a few thousandths slower. "Today I was able to show again what I've got," said the beaming winner after her first senior national title.

Former European champion Gina Lückenkemper missed her seventh national title and finished third in 11.29 seconds. According to her camp, Lückenkemper had recently been weakened by a tick bite. "The centimeters I missed today, I've saved them for the European Championships in Birmingham," she said. It was also reported from her surroundings: "He keeps having calf cramp problems."

Sprint, hurdles and long jump

In pole vault, the decisions had already been made on Thursday and Friday as part of the "Finals" in Hanover against a spectacular backdrop on the Opernplatz. Top favorite Lita Baehre failed to secure the men's title — the surprise of the competition was an athlete with the surname Metzger. In the women's event, Kira Wittmann of SV Halle lived up to her favorite role.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, the Leverkusen athlete stormed to gold in 12.69 seconds — a personal best and an equaled championship record. The previous season's best, Rosina Schneider (TV Sulz), secured second place in 12.81 seconds ahead of Lia Flotow (LAV Rostock), who also ran faster than ever before (12.83). Defending champion Caroline Joyeux of LG Nord Berlin already had the standard in the bag (season best: 14.22 m), but in Wattenscheid the favorite had to settle for 13.98 m and second place.

In triple jump, the Hannover 96 athlete bettered her personal best, set just five weeks earlier (14.00 m), twice with 14.14 m on her fourth attempt and 14.10 m on her final attempt, celebrating her second outdoor national title. The Leverkusen athlete withdrew after two attempts in fifth place (57.78) with adductor problems.

High jump with a tense moment

In shot put, Eric Maihöfer was the only competitor to launch his implement beyond the 20-meter mark with 20.26 m — his third consecutive national title. In long jump, Simon Batz provided a highlight: the Mannheim athlete underscored his brilliant form and improved his home record to 8.29 m on his fifth attempt — sixth place in Europe for the 23-year-old. Kevin Brucha (TLV Germania Überruhr) flew to second place on his final attempt with 8.04 m, crossing the magical 8-meter mark for the first time. The Hamburg sprinter Simon Plitzko also jumped 8.00 m for third. The last time a German athlete jumped further at a national championship was 2009, when his coach Sebastian Bayer reached 8.49 m.

Munich high jumper Bo Kanda Lita Baehre needed only 2.15 meters for the title ahead of the equally tall Falk Wendrich. The former European Championship runner-up Wendrich crashed into one of the uprights holding the bar on a failed attempt at 2.19 meters and could not continue. "On the second attempt I thought he was going to stop, but he pushed through," reported Wendrich, who observed the mishap of Potye up close. Potye, who has already cleared 2.30 m this year, still claimed his sixth consecutive outdoor title with 2.15 m cleared, because Wendrich also faltered at 2.19 m and had more failed attempts.

Javelin: Weber equals Wolfermann

Julian Weber from Mainz continued his winning streak in javelin: the 31-year-old became German national champion for the sixth time in a row with 82.60 meters, drawing level with javelin legend Klaus Wolfermann. Weber prevailed with a solid 82.60 m and needed only four attempts. Behind the resurgent veteran were Nick Thumm (81.45) and Max Dehning (79.33). While the German record holder Johannes Vetter (97.76) was not at the start due to physical issues, Rio Olympic champion Thomas Röhler (79.12) had to settle for fourth place.

In hammer throw, Aileen Kuhn from Frankfurt not only completed a successful title defense with her commanding victory of 71.38 m, but also celebrated a successful dress rehearsal for the European Championships, where reaching the final is the goal. In discus, defending champion and season's best Marike Steinacker (66.55 m) had a black day. Frustrated, the 2022 European Championship runner-up smashed her glasses before she left the infield accompanied by paramedics and abandoned the competition.

Discus drama and shot put triumph

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Kristin Pudenz (64.00) took silver ahead of Leia Braunagel (Frankfurt/63.15). Now the world eighth-place finisher from SV Halle won with a season's best of 66.18 m and performed a little victory dance. With his season-best of 20.63 m, the Sindelfingen athlete is below the European Championship qualifying mark (20.80), but as German champion has collected valuable points and, like Wittmann, has good prospects. Although she is six centimeters short of the direct European Championship standard, the 26-year-old is likely to secure her ticket to Birmingham through the European ranking, which awards the last European Championship starting places.

Steeplechase gold despite a fall

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the title went to Karl Bebendorf of Dresden for the seventh time, even though he tripped and fell without outside interference with just under four laps to go. The Dresden athlete, who has improved to 8:05.55 minutes this year and is thus the second-best German in history, won in 8:21.01 minutes despite a fall following a self-inflicted stumble and in the absence of the new European record holder Frederik Ruppert — his seventh gold. Ruppert had opted for the 5,000 m at the national championships; in Europe, the