Berlin – After the relocation of the Tokyo Olympic Games to the coming year, water polo coach Hagen Stamm has to continue to build up his team.
My current task is to cool the wounds on the players. We made a great preparation – and an expensive one, he said on the rbb website. For health reasons, ponement of the games by one year is understandable. “But the boys can’t take it at all.”
The 59-year-old national coach is also not sure whether all of his athletes will still be there next year. “The players are of course also family and professional plans behind it.” The most important thing is to keep the players’ motivation high. How do you get the men going again next year with the same vigor, asked Stamm?
The cancellation of Tokyo this year is particularly bitter for German water polo players, mainly because of the good preparation. We were at the point where we wanted to go. Much better than at the European Championship in January because we had fewer injuries, said Stamm. The team was in top shape. At the preparatory tournament in Hamburg in March, the German team won two of three duels. Stamm also looked good against favorites.
