German twins holding hands at marathon spark outrage
Instead of being interpreted as sisterly love, the gesture was seen
as a way of gaining 'media attention':
by Will Worley
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The twins received criticism for joining hands as they
approached the finish line. Alexander Hassenstein/ Getty
Images |
Two German twins, both participating in the women's marathon at the
Rio Olympics, have sparked outrage after crossing the finishing line
holding hands.
Instead of being interpreted as sisterly love, the gesture was seen
as a way of gaining "media attention".
Anna and Lisa Hahner, both 26, finished 15 minutes under their
personal best times, coming in 81 and 82 place respectively - giving
further fuel to the criticism.Sports director of the German Athletics
Federation, Thomas Kurschilgen, highlighted their slow times and said
the hand holding made the race look like a "fun run".
"Victory and medals are not the only goal," Kurschilgen told the New
York Times. "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."
If this was the twins' goal, it apparently succeeded - there was
another German runner in the race, AnjaScherl, who came in 44th place
but received little attention for her superior performance.The Hahner
sisters also received negative coverage in the German press. Columnist
Lars Wallrodt said the act was "ingenious self-marketing"."The Olympics
is the meeting of the best athletes, measuring the peak performance of
each country's best," Wallrodt wrote in Die Welt. "If the Hahners
jointly want to cross the finish line, beaming and holding hands, then
they can - in the countryside home run in St. Pölten or the Miss-Braided
run in Solingen."
However, the pair defended their actions. "We trained the last four
years to participate in this marathon," Anna Hahner said. "Neither the
time nor the position was what made us happy but to know that we did the
best that was possible that day."
They insisted the hand holding was not planned but said it was
"magical" that they could finish the marathon together.
- NYT
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