Wacker-Stadium, Leipzig | August 7–8, 1926
The German Championships were decided under changeable skies. Following a downpour, the track lay heavy and wet on the Saturday, whereas on the Sunday, competitors were favoured with splendid summer weather.
SC Preußen Stettin's Otto Peltzer went on a spree at the German Championships. The man from Stettin, who was a series candidate for the title of the world's best male track and field athlete in 1926, took home the championships in the 400 metres flat, the 1500 metres, and the 400 metres hurdles. Additionally, he ran a leg in the Stettin team that won the 3x1000 metre relay.
In the long hurdles, Peltzer, running with a flawed technique, improved his previous PB by a second. At the same time, he lowered the German national record. Heinrich Trossbach, who had improved the world's best in the high hurdles in 1925, finished almost two seconds behind Peltzer. In the season's world rankings, the German individualist placed fifth.
SC Schlesien Breslau's Helmut Körnig dashed to two victories. His winning time of 10.3 in the 100 was not recognized as a world record due to a strong tailwind. The track also sloped downwards by seven centimeters. However, the 10.4 he clocked in the heats was accepted as a German record.
Körnig also sped to victory in the half-lap, the same event in which he snatched silver two years later at the Amsterdam Olympics. Werner Wege blasted in the lead in his home stadium, until Körnig's final quarter burst gave him a 2-3 metre lead. Hubert Houben, who dominated German sprinting throughout the first half of the 1920s, finished fourth in both events. Rickhard Corts of the Stuttgart Kickers, who had won the 100 yards at the English Championships only to suffer an injury at the South German championships did not participate in the Leipzig competitions.
The German long jump record was shattered. Rudolf Dobermann of SC Marienburg Köln stirred up the sand at a distance of 7.36 (24-1¾) from the takeoff board and successfully defended his title from a year ago. Dobermann was eliminated in the qualifying round of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and moved to Brazil a couple of years later, where he supported himself as a coach and businessman.
Hans Hoffmeister, the 1.96m giant who was a favorite for the discus at the Amsterdam Olympics but disappointed there, spun a respectable winning result of 44.13 (144-9) in Leipzig. Former German record holder Gustav Steinbrenner finished third.
The level of German track and field began to gradually rise after a Swiss head coach started working with the national team in 1923. Even in 1926, the country might have lost a national team competition against Sweden and Finland, but in the 1930s, Germany rose to the top of European track and field.
Medallists (Wikipedia)