Last weekend in Madrid Christiane Pilz and Christian Prochnow were the top Germans across the line to grab the coveted final spots on the German Olympic team.  This past week they were in Hamburg for a press conference at the chamber of commerce.  The newest members of the DTU Olympic squad spoke about the joy and relief of qualifying for Beijing. 

Pilz and Prochnow both agreed that they were not able to believe what they actually achieved and that they would need time to stomach this.  They plan on racing Hamburg on July 6 though its not known if they will use Hamburg race as a dress rehearsal. 
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Andreas Raelert{/exp:tag_this}, who was in the contention for the final Olympic spot, was also at the press conference, showing he is a fair sportsman.

Sure Im disappointed and I really would have liked to start for the third time at the Olympic Games, but the qualifying and at last the terms in Madrid were for all the same.  So Paule (Christian Prochnow) absolutely deserves to start in Beijing, said Raelert.  My personal aim will be the World Championships and the Hamburg City Man. 

DTU-Sportsdirector Rolf Ebeling accented the special importance of the qualifying for the Olympic Games.

The fact that we are taking six athletes to Beijing, stands for the international strength of our athletes. But when there are three men and two women, to each of them you have a strong personal attachment, and they fight for the last two tickets to the Olympics, its becoming a matter of emotion.

Frank Bertling, CEO of Hamburg LOC Upsolut exposed the role of the Hamburg BG Triathlon World Cup. 

With about 10,500 attendees well have again the worldwide biggest triathlon.  But even more important is that we will have participants from age 8 to 80.  Beginning with the triathlon for schools, the relay for families and the international German Handicap-Championship, we have a lot to offer for a big audience. Also Im absolutely sure the contests for the elites as one of the last tests before Beijing will be very exciting.

Hamburg has hosted a stop of the world cup series every year since 2002.  Last year the city hosted the BG Triathlon World Championships, perhaps considered the most successful world championships ever.

Click here for more information on the Hamburg BG Triathlon World Cup

Christian Prochnow, Christiane Pilz and Andreas Raelert in Hamburg