“I’m speechless”
3×3 basketball players go to the Olympics – and have a problem
May 19, 2024, 8:29 p.m
For a long time, the Olympics seem to remain a utopia for German basketball players. But now Svenja Brunckhorst and Sonja Greinacher are suddenly spoiled for choice. After qualifying in five-on-five, the duo and the 3×3 team won their ticket to the Summer Games in Paris
The German 3×3 basketball players have made their Olympic dream come true. Sonja Greinacher, Luana Rodefeld, Marie Reichert and Svenja Brunckhorst made it to the final of the qualifying tournament in Debrecen/Hungary with a 19:17 semi-final win against the Hungarian hosts and thus secured the necessary place in the top three.
Only at the last second did captain Brunckhorst sink the decisive throw, causing exuberant and tearful celebrations among the German team. “I’m speechless,” said Brunckhorst after the dramatic final act: “I’m incredibly proud of the team. We fought so hard every single game and are so mentally strong.”
Brunckhorst’s team is the first German 3×3 team at the Olympic Games. No one was able to qualify when the sport premiered at the 2021 Olympics. For Brunckhorst and Greinacher, however, the unpleasant question now arises as to which competition they want to compete in in Paris. Both are also on the five-on-five national team. But before that there is the final in Debrecen against Spain.
The German men, however, are denied their first Olympic participation. Fabian Giessmann, Denzel Agyeman, Linus Beikame and Leon Fertig missed out on making it into the top four due to a 17:19 quarter-final defeat against France. There is no further chance to qualify. Due to the French reaching the semi-finals, the three remaining tickets were already taken before the last two rounds, as France, as the Olympic host, had secured a place for the tournament on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. They went to Poland, Lithuania and Mongolia.
The five-on-five men have long since qualified as world champions; it will be national coach Gordon Herbert’s last tournament. A year after the historic gold triumph in Manila, the 65-year-old is already withdrawing from the Olympics in Paris and is leaving the selection earlier than planned. The contract with the Canadian, which actually runs until the European Championships in 2025, will be terminated early on August 31, 2024.