The first title at the 126th German Athletics Championships unexpectedly went to Marek Metzger on Thursday: the pole vaulter handled the windy conditions at the Opera Square in Hannover best and was the only one to clear the distance of 5.40 metres.
Svenja Saper / Birte Grote
Against the stunning backdrop of Hannover’s Opera Square but with strong winds, the pole vaulters crowned their German champions on Thursday in the 2026 Final. How difficult the conditions were was already evident from the height of the entrance: three athletes had to give up at a height of 5 meters. There were also many views at the following heights.
One of those who didn’t seem to mind the conditions was Maretz Metzger (TSV Gräfelfing): The German U23 champion easily cleared the starting height of 5.20 meters, missed by 5.30 meters and also cleared 5.40 meters on his first attempt. However, at that time he could not predict that this would be a jump to gold.
Gold favorite Bo Kanda Lita Baere (Dusseldorf Athletics) chose exactly this 5.40 meters as his starting height. In fact, a feasible task for a 5.90 meter jumper. Apparently he hit the bar hard twice before it finally fell. The distance to the crossbar was chosen incorrectly, so, unfortunately, the favorite could not make it into the rankings. The same fate befell defending champions Gillian Ladwig (Schweriner) and Louis Prebstle (MTG Mannheim) in the 5.30m.
Only the best performance is too high
Silver and bronze went to two 5.30m jumpers. Fabio Wunsch (Potsdam) conquered this height, which was only two centimeters below the best result of the season, on the first try and was awarded silver. Bronze went to Konstantinruch (LG Olympia Dortmund), who covered a distance of 5.30 meters in his second attempt. Fourth place went to decathlete Amadeus Graeber (Eintracht Frankfurt), who barely managed to achieve his new personal best. He had previously jumped 5.20 meters in his first attempt.
Marek Metzger then tried 5.50m. This could have equaled his home record, but he couldn’t do it this time. With the title under his belt, he was able to overcome this and gave himself the best gift six days after his 22nd birthday. And thanks to the large number of enthusiastic spectators in the stadium, there was an atmospheric start to the 126th German Championships, which continues on Friday with the women’s pole vault at the same venue and on Saturday and Sunday with further decisions at the Lohrheide Stadium in Wattenscheid.
Comments on the competition:
Marec Metzger (TSV Gräfelfing)
First German title – incredible! This is something different than winning in the junior classes. I’m just happy that I was able to show what I can do today. Now I’m pretty consistent when it comes to jumping. So I was confident that I could skip 5.30 meters and go straight to 5.40 meters. I was confident in myself and glad that I was able to prove it and played poker for a reason. We had a good competition and the temperature was great. It’s always nice to jump on the dock, it has a good “bounce” and you’re fast. In the city, the wind is sometimes a little strange, we saw this today. The wind affected me a little when I jumped, but I handled it well in the competition. In general, I always find such bridges in the city center incredibly beautiful and always look forward to such competitions. Congratulations to the other two, and it’s a shame for Beau that things didn’t work out so well for him.
Fabio Wunsch (Potsdam)
The competition was intense and there were many gusts of wind. But I did my best. The scenery was magnificent, there were a lot of people there and the weather was even better. Even though it wasn’t that tall, it was really beautiful.
Konstantinruch (LG Olympia Dortmund)
Very, very cool competition here in Hannover, with a stunning backdrop, it was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, the heights are not what they should be at the German Championships. But we all got up and tried. In the end there are three of us. I’m very happy with my medal!
DM 2026