German Olympic officials denounce twins for finishing marathon hand-in-hand
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Imagine running a marathon. Now imagine doing it at the Summer Olympics. And now imagine approaching the end of that race next to your twin. After 26.2 miles, you may get a little emotional.
So, you begin to understand why German twins Anna and Lisa Hahner say they spontaneously joined hands as they crossed the women’s marathon finish line together in 81st and 82nd place, respectively.
But the German Athletics Federation isn’t buying it.
“Victory and medals are not the only goal,” GAF sports director Thomas Kurschilgen said in an email to the New York Times on Tuesday. “Still, every athlete in the Olympic competitions should be motivated to demonstrate his or her best performance and aim for the best possible result. …
“Their main aim was to generate media attention. That is what we criticize.”
How do you really feel, Thomas?
Anna and Lisa Hahner finished 0.01 seconds apart, in 2:45.32 and 2:45.33, respectively, more than 20 minutes behind medalists Jemima Jalegat Sumgong of Kenya (2:24.04), Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa of Bahrain (2:24.13) and Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia (2:24.30). The twins’ personal-best times of 2:26.44 and 2:28.39 would have placed them closer to the top 10, ironically sandwiched around North Korean twins Kim Hye-song and Kim Hye-gyong, who finished 10th and 11th with an identical time of 2:28.36.
Just because North Korean Olympic officials have not publicly dissed their twins’ athletic authenticity doesn’t mean Germany’s delegation wasn’t willing to do go the extra mile. Could the twins have orchestrated their finish in an attempt to gain notoriety they wouldn’t have otherwise received for finishing so far back in the pack? It sure seems Kurschilgen’s reaction is the reason this is a story.
Besides, the Hahners insist the fact they finished so close together was merely a pleasant surprise. Anna told The New York Times she joined a pack of runners that took an early lead on her sister, and the two later ran three kilometers together when their packs merged during the middle of the race, after which Anna couldn’t keep pace and fell behind Lisa for a considerable portion of the marathon.
“Lisa was always not far from me,” she told the paper. “After 40 kilometers, there was a turning point, and I knew, ‘Okay Anna, two kilometers to go to close the gap to Lisa.’ I invested all I had and 300 meters before the finish line, I was next to Lisa. It was a magical moment that we could finish this marathon together. We did not think about what we were doing.”
The Hanhers’ hand-in-hand moment seemed a triumph of Olympic spirit — a pair of twins proud to represent their country together — but German Olympic officials weren’t smiling along with them.
