GERMANY: OLYMPICS - The German women's soccer team and men's handball team are fitted for their official Olympic uniforms

Record ID: 252995

  • Title: GERMANY: OLYMPICS - The German women's soccer team and men's handball team are fitted for their official Olympic uniforms
  • Date: 19th July 2008
  • Summary: GERMAN HANDBALL PLAYERS SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS CLOSE-UP OF SIGNATURES HANDBALL ON A TABLE NATIONAL PLAYER OLIVER ROGGISCH BEING GIVEN KIT SOCKS BEING PUT INTO BAG ROGGISCH TAKING BAG OF SOCKS PHOTOGRPAHERS TAKING PICTURES OF ROGGISCH AND TRAINER HEINER BRAND BRAND TRYING ON KIT SOLDIERS GIVING PLAYERS UNIFORM PLAYER TRYING ON TRAINERS NATIONAL PLAYER FLORIAN KEHRMANN AND BRAND
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAEM25JQOTAZ53Y6Z68GNUYT0PM
  • Story Text: The German women's soccer team and the handball team were presented with their official strips for the Olympic Games on Friday (July 18), as they make the last-minute preparations for their trip to the summer games in Beijing.
    The women's soccer team were first to be fitted at the army barracks in Mainz. National team trainer Silvia Neid had previously announced the 18 members of the Olympic team, 16 of whom were members of the world champion squad in 2007.
    Hopes were high that the team would be able to repeat their winning performance in August.
    "We have been training really hard and are well on the way. We have now won bronze medals in the last two Olympic Games and we want to top this so we are aiming for the final," said Renate Lingor.
    "You can sense that it is starting to get serious now and we are all starting to think about what is ahead of us. We are of course really looking forward to the Olympic Games," national player Kerstin Garefrekes told Reuters.
    According to the German Olympic Organisation (DOSB) around 100,000 pieces of kit will be given out to players. This will include clothing, bags and informative material. Each athlete is to take home 70 pieces of kit in preparation for the Games in Beijing.
    The DOSB said that on average it take each athlete around two hours to be fitted for all of the necessary items. Any alterations that are needed are done on the spot by tailors.
    In the afternoon the national handball team arrived to receive their new gear and the players seemed to be enjoying the experience.
    "As always there is a really good atmosphere. We are all looking forward to the Olympic Games. We are hoping to go far and have the goal of winning a gold medal. We will do everything to achieve this," national player Michael Kraus told Reuters on Friday.
    Although trainer Heiner Brand is taking 15 team members to the Olympic fitting, his final decision will be announced to the DOSB after a game against Sweden at the weekend. He says he wants to make the right choice so that all of the hard work pays off.
    "Of course when you train for so long, prepare for such a long time, you set yourself the highest goals. But of course we know that we have to be realistic and can only really think about one game at a time. We will have to set ourselves new goals all of the time," said handball coach Heiner Brand.
    Last Friday members of the national shooting, swimming, judoka and badminton teams were given their official uniforms and the preparations are set to continue until the end of the month.
    The complete new kit was initially presented to the public back in April. The DOSB described the gear as practical and comfortable, and says it has been designed specially for the weather conditions in Beijing.
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