I asked the family I am staying with to name all the track and field athletes they could. It was a quick response, only one person. “Christina Obergfoll”

Surprising to not hear Usain Bolt, Lolo Jones, Allyson Felix, or Ashton Eaton, but that’s simply the world they live in. Here in Offenburg, a city of 59,000 people I would venture to guess all of them only know one track and field athlete. And they would all say the same person. “Christina Obergfoll”

While Germany is still dominated in sports by soccer, handball, and basketball, Christina is Hollywood status in Offenburg and probably the rest of Germany. She received the Female Athlete of the Year award for Germany for her gold winning World Championship javelin performance in Moscow.

The country may be winning medals in the field events for decades but they seem to be having the same problems that America has in Track and Field; no money.

Most of the money goes to soccer, and the money that does go to track and field goes to the sprinters, which is odd considering their best sprinter is ranked #35 globally on the descending order for 2013.

But while Germany may suffer from the same downfall, I think they must deal with it better than America.

The top tier javelin throwers (that have thrown the Olympic A Standard – currently anywhere from 82-83.50m), I am told don’t have to worry about money. I threw the Olympic A Standard in 2009 and in 2011, but sadly that’s not the truth for me.

National level javelin throwers (Maybe 77-82m throwers or the top 10 after top tier) get paid by their governing body and don’t have to pay anything for their annual training camp in South Africa. On top of that it seems that the club/sponsorships seem to be much different in Germany. While a Nike or Adidas athlete may have to compete by IAAF standards at any major championship (one logo not more than 30 square centimeters for the sponsor and one logo not more than 30 square centimeters for the club), the national level athletes in Germany train in and compete in the smaller competitions with clothing that is branded more like Nascar. Their clubs also pay them monthly to train/compete throughout the year.

Again I don’t think I know of any javelin thrower in America that has this luxury. Tier status with USATF is harder to get the older you are, and unless you are top 20 in the world the money is no more than $2,500 a year; hardly enough to pay for a few months’ rent.

We are pretty limited to the two logo rule, I don’t know of any athlete in America that has figured out how to get away with more, and I can’t name a single javelin/discus/hammer thrower in America that is getting paid by his club to train. Most throwers have full-time/part-time jobs that work with their training schedules in order to make ends meet. Because of this most college athletes cannot pursue athletics after they graduate.

Under 23 javelin throwers (maybe 68-75m throwers) get a much smaller salary from their governing body but still get to go on the training camp to South Africa (possibly paying part of the way). They still get paid by their club, but more than likely would need a part-time job or some other support.

Just the fact that there is an annual Training Camp in South Africa BLOWS MY MIND! I am not positive how long it is, but I think it is 2-3weeks. Now think about that? With these guidelines you are bringing 12-20 javelin throwers on the men’s side alone to South Africa. Multiply room and board for 2-3 weeks and the cost seems ridiculous.

There is no way that Germany Athletics makes more money in donations/sponsorships than USATF. But the money allocation must be vastly different.

I wish there was an annual training camp somewhere warm where all the javelin throwers/coaches could get together share our secrets and get better. After all we only compete against each other at the USA Championships. We should be helping each other win medals at the global stage. Instead I am paying out of my own pocket to train with the best here in Germany. I also did a couple weeks in Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center and got treatment, and I did two weeks in Chula Vista Olympic Training Center to get warm weather training.

Now I know I am ignorant to the inner workings of Oregon Track Club, USATF, IAAF, and the majority of athletics, so I won’t give any solutions to the problem, but I see a model that is working better in Germany for the throws. I can’t help but wonder what their secret is.

#TrainBIG #KeepFighting

PS I just got free medical treatment from a physio in Germany! I think I like it here.