WEIMAR (GERMANY), Dec 4 (DPA / EP) –
Lawyer Thomas Weikert was elected this Saturday as the new president of the German Olympic Committee, the so-called German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), an entity that is going through a period of crisis.
The former president of the World Table Tennis Federation prevailed in the vote by 361 to 56 votes to the president of German fencing, Claudia Bokel, at the DOSB general assembly held this Saturday in the German city of Weimar.
Weikert, 60, succeeds Alfons Hörmann at the head of the sports confederation that brings together some 27 million members and 90,000 clubs. “I’m a bit impressed. Now is the time to come together to move forward. Thanks also to Claudia, I don’t want to do without her experience,” Weikert said after his election.
“The dark suit is often mistakenly seen as alienating sports officials from the grassroots. I want to change that,” Weikert said during his introductory speech. “Give me the opportunity to show that we often wear suits, but we always think with our shirts on,” he said.
The lawyer for the state of Hesse had already been linked to the body with rumors since 2018 as a possible head of the DOSB, when several front-line associations revolted against Hörmann, complaining about his tone and manner.
Hörmann, a controversial figure, resigned his candidacy after eight years in office following the scandal that led to the appearance of an anonymous letter from an employee. In the letter, he and the DOSB leadership are accused of having created a “culture of fear” at the House of Sport in Frankfurt.
The crisis was fueled by threatening letters that lawyers sent on their behalf and on behalf of the president of the council, Veronika Rücker, to former council member Karin Fehres. She was suspected of being the author of the anonymous letter and was threatened with criminal charges and civil actions. Fehres firmly denied the allegations.
Hörmann did not attend the meeting in Weimar for medical advice, after suffering from coronavirus, but in an interview published this Saturday by the newspaper “Allgäuer Zeitung” he maintained his theory that he was a victim. He claimed there is ample evidence to show “that it was a deliberate overthrow of the DOSB leadership.”