World Championship standard! Stepanov runs the best time over 800 meters

World Championship standard! Stepanov runs the best time over 800 meters

In an exciting competition at the Merck Running Gala in Pfungstadt, 20-year-old Alexander Stepanov from VfL Sindelfingen caused a sensation. He achieved a sensational time of 1:44.17 minutes over the 800 meters and thus placed himself in the history of German middle distance athletes. Loud Northern Courier This is the best time for a German athlete in more than 20 years!

Stepanov was surprised by the performance. Ultimately, his preparation was anything but optimal; Knee problems had limited his training options. Six days earlier he had already achieved a best time of 1:46.08 minutes, thus meeting the standard for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. With his new personal record, he now occupies seventh place in the all-time German best list, just one hundredth of a second behind Olympic champion Nils Schumann and 52 hundredths of a second behind Willi Wülbeck's German record.

A rise through challenges

Increasing performance is no coincidence: Stepanov, who describes himself as a “late bloomer”, experienced some physical disadvantages up until the U18 level. Like from athletics.de reports, a growth spurt didn't make training easy. Still, his love of athletics and the support of his father Oleg, a former 800-meter runner, kept him on track. From his beginnings at SKG Botnang through various injury setbacks to finally achieving his first best time of 1:48.32 minutes, which made him the new German indoor champion in 2024, his journey is remarkable.

His extraordinary development is also reflected in the qualification for the U20 European Championships, where he took sixth place in the final with a time of 1:49.03 minutes. In the 2024 indoor season he was able to increase his best performance to 1:48.97 minutes. Even though a broken wrist put him back from the Baden-Württemberg indoor championships, Stepanov impressively demonstrated that he is ready to master the challenges of the sport.

The look into the future

With goals like graduating from high school and somewhat uncertain sporting prospects for the coming months, Stepanov remains humble and focused. National coach Georg Schmidt praises his continuous improvement and physical progress. The aspiring athlete has not only proven himself, but also his potential. His next goal is to challenge his father's best time, while at the same time focusing on staying healthy and continuing to develop athletically.

By the way, the victory in Pfungstadt went to Pieter Siks from Belgium with a time of 1:44.09 minutes. While Stepanov is amazed at his new best time, Elija Ziem from Königsteiner LV also took 21st place with 1:50.25 minutes. It remains exciting to see how the rest of the season will develop for the talented Sindelfinger!