German gymnast Fabian Hambuechen: No longer a part of the Bundesliga team
The 2007 German Sportsperson of the Year, Fabian Hambuechen, has recently proved that skills alone will only take one so far, and there is a limit to the level of tolerance shown by the athletics community in the face of unprofessional attitude.
KTV Straubenhardt’s men’s team recently competed in the Bundesliga finals without Hambuechen against plans.
Following this no-show, Horst Rapp, President of KTV support club, and Alexei Grigoriev Coach at KTV Straubenhardt, announced a disassociation with Hambuechen, starting 2012.
Hambuechen, who has an Olympic bronze to his claim, presents exhaustion as the reason behind his withdrawal. The German gymnast said that his Achilles tendon was a source of concern for him too.
"In the last 10 months of rehabilitation I had exactly three free days," he said.
The one-sided explanation along with the fact that Hambuechen’s contract with KTV Straubenhardt was extremely flexible, make the gymnast seem worthy of sympathies.
Since the contract allowed Hambuechen the right to choose when to compete, this incident was merely him exercising it.
However, Grigoriev and Rapp were more irked by the gymnast’s prioritization of late. The gymnast had chosen to forego the Bundesliga final but took part in the Swiss Cup, the Arthur Gander Memorial and even made appearance on a celebrity diving show recently.
"I've never had a problem with Fabian," Grigoriev said. "My only problem is that I simply have no influence on him and cannot plan with him".
On the other hand, President of the KTV Straubenhardt club, Helmut Riegsinger, presented a more negatively connotated picture.
According to Riegsinger, the gymnast was not reliable and often pulled out of competitions at the last minute, only three or four days before the showdown. This was disturbing for the morale of the team and threw plans and arrangements out of order.
"The cancellations were often short notice and that was not good. We need reliability. In my opinion there are only two facts that count: he didn't come (this weekend), and we were disappointed," Riegsinger said.
Hambuechen had been with the KTV Straubenhardt’s team for seven years until this termination, at which point, Riegsinger commented that the gymnast and the club had “drifted apart like an old married couple”.
The media reports served as Hambuechen’s termination notice, marking an unpleasant end to their relationship.
Following this, Hambuechen released his own statement declaring that he had resigned from the KTV Straubenhardt club.
Where does this leave the KTV Straubenhardt club itself? That question is answered by the Straubenhardt men’s team’s victorious return from the Bundesliga finals this week.
The team boasts of stellar talent with the likes of 2011 European champion (parallel bars) Marcel Nguyen and Thomas Taranu who was formerly a World team member.
This incident is a standing alert to all gymnasts out there that with great skills comes great responsibility, to be dedicated and reliable.
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