Patrick Wiencek is a pretty massive appearance. 110 kilograms, distributed to 2.01 meters, so it is in the official documents at the Handball world championship. What is not there, is his nickname, Bam Bam. Come probably, therefore, that he had earlier “played like sometimes in the defense bit harder,” says Wiencek. His voice makes him much more gentle, but nevertheless: This Wiencek is a guy, as he beech stands in Handball, at least in that, in the men as he as a mobster be described, the throw without regard to losses into the fray, grab and plug in, the go beyond borders, especially of one’s own body.

Christian Kamp

sports editor.

F. A. Z.

It is the day after the 25:25 the national team against France. Two days after the 22:22 against Russia. If you listen to the 29-year-old Wiencek about the consequences of speaking, he sounds almost more like an old man than a professional athlete in his Prime. “It’s hard when you get up in the morning and the bones hurt,” says the professional from the THW Kiel. “We are trying to keep in motion, if it is a bit in motion, that’s fine too.”

the game plan of the Handball world championship 2019 in Germany and Denmark

What to do could between two such Games within 24 hours? Not a lot of. “We are handball players, we know differently,” says Wiencek, completely sober, without complaint. “The body can be felt more than you think.” The rhythm of the hand balls is adamant. On Thursday evening, the German team still played in Berlin against Serbia on Saturday night in Cologne, Germany against Iceland, they won 24:19.

It is mainly the Top players at the Top clubs, which are exposed to extreme loads, up to 80 Games in the year and now at the world Cup every second day, sometimes two days in a row. The Icelandic national coach complained of in these days, now that his Team have been expected of four games in five days up to the completion of the ordeal on Sunday against France (22:31). Is the answer to?

The eternal Dilemma

For Patrick Luig it is a “real Problem”. Luig is since January, a Federal trainer for science and education at the German handball Federation (DHB), before he deals with the Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG) with the topic of sports injuries. “Under the given conditions, this number of Games in a short time is quite difficult,” says the PhD training of scientists. “Either the players get to feel it now, or you will get to feel in the aftermath of their clubs. This is the Dilemma that we’re in this for ages.“

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in theory, says Luig, you could prepare the players on this burden. “But this time, Christian Prokop, when he gathered the team for four weeks.” The possible consequences of a permanent Overload, so Luig, can be varied: acute injuries, chronic conditions, overloading syndrome, performance degradation, and psychological problems.