The story of the ‘Class Of 22’

For two years we followed 14 German athletes on their way to a hopeful participation at the European Championships Munich 2022. The documentary series Class of 22 offered an intimate insight into the life of these 14 hopefuls, highlighting every step of their way. From established medal candidates to the stars of tomorrow, the protagonists mirrored the event’s diversity. We look back at the 11-day sport and festival extravaganza to remember how they all fared.

Out of the 14 athletes 10 made it to Munich 2022. Only Julius Thole, who ended his sporting career, Gudrun Stock, who was injured, Felix Remuta and Franca Henseleit weren’t in Munich as competitors.

© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Munich 2022

PART OF THE ACTION

Alma Bestvater, like the other climbers, got to experience a whole new side of Königsplatz, where both beach volleyball and sport climbing took place. The climber qualified for the boulder competition and made it to the semi-finals as the seventh best qualifier.

Beach volleyballer Clemens Wickler played a good tournament with his new partner Nils Ehlers. Unluckily, they had to play the Olympic champions from Tokyo in the quarterfinals. Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, who had won the last four European consecutive championships and were going for a five-peat as they told us in an exclusive interview. And the Norwegians didn’t let Ehlers and Wickler stop them.

© Daniel Kopatsch/Munich 2022

Local middle distance runner Christina Hering made it all the way to the 800m final at Olympiastadion. It wasn’t quite enough for a medal, but with the achievement of reaching the final she made Hildegard Falck-Kimmich’s hopes for Hering come true. "I know her personally and I certainly wish her all the best and lots and lots of success." The former 800m world record holder continued by adding: "She has to make the final, that’s a must." Falck-Kimmich became the first woman to undercut the two-minute-mark when she crossed the finish line in Stuttgart in 1:58.5 minutes in 1971. The following year she became Olympic champion in the Olympiastadion. In an exclusive interview with Falck-Kimmich, we embarked on a journey through time to mark the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games in Munich’s Olympiapark and her grandiose successes.

SO CLOSE YOU CAN TASTE IT

In the BMX Freestyle Park final all eyes were on Olympic champion Charlotte Worthington of Great Britain and the then-reigning champion Nikita Ducarroz from Switzerland. In our exclusive interview Worthington let us know her goal: “I wasn’t able to attend the most recent European championships in Russia, which was in 2021. So sadly, I had to lose that title [from 2019]. And so, I definitely have a goal to win that title back.” It was an exciting final, with more than 18,000 people watching the event live and for free at Olympiaberg. Despite the home crowd rider Lara Lessmann missed out on a medal by the slightest margin, finishing in fourth. Interestingly, neither of the two favourites won gold: both Worthington and Ducarroz placed behind Lessmann, while the 16-year-old Czech Iveta Miculyčová seized her chance.

Rower Oliver Zeidler ended up in a painful fourth place, giving it his all on the regatta where his grandfather Hans-Johann Färber won gold at the 1972 Olympic Games. Still, he left Munich 2022 with his head held high and grateful for the Olympic Regatta Centre being in use for a big championship once more.

Para canoeist Felicia Laberer, paddling in the KL3, also finished right outside the medal ranks. Though even her fourth-place finish would have been a European best.

© Thomas Niedermüller/Munich 2022

PROUD MEDALLISTS

Additionally, however, four out of the Class of 22 bunch succeeded in medalling at Munich 2022! And they were vital in securing the Nations Trophy for the host nation.

Sabine Winter was one of three female German table tennis players who made it to the semifinals. Because there is no additional match for bronze, she had secured herself a bronze medal in the singles by reaching the semis. Winter ended up losing her semifinal but was happy with standing on top of the podium with two of her teammates.

Pole vaulter Bo Kanda Lita Baehre cleared 5.85m to win silver behind the world record holder Mondo Duplantis, who upped his own championship record from 6.05m to 6.06m.

Triathlete Simon Henseleit claimed silver in the Mixed Relay with Valentin Wernz, Nina Eim and Laura Lindemann.

Max Lemke won gold and with that the title of European champion in the men’s K4 together with Max Rendschmidt, Tom Liebscher and Jacob Schopf.

© Axel Heimken/Munich 2022

What a journey! If you want to see how these athletes ended up competing at their home European championships, then watch the Class of 22 episodes on YouTube right here.