German Paralympic team returns
March 18, 2014
The German team arrived in Frankfurt late Monday after a slight delay due to an unexpected snowstorm in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. The athletes were greeted by a delegation led by Secretary of State in the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Ole Schröder, and Hesse Interior Minister Peter Beuth at Frankfurt Airport.
In a statement, German President Joachim Gauck congratulated the 13 person team. “All of Germany is pleased with you," he wrote.
Chef de mission Karl Quade said of the team, “We can be very satisfied…along with many medals we have also achieved excellent rankings.”
Germany came in second behind hosts Russia for the most gold medals won during the Paralympic Games and placed in fifth place overall in the standings. Along with its nine gold medals, the Germans also brought home five silver medals and one bronze.
One of the German teams' brightest stars during the Games was Anna Schaffelhuber who won five alpine skiing golds. The 21-year-old has been one of the great hopes in German winter sports. "Anna will be one of the greats, I'm sure of it," Friedhelm-Julius Beucher, president of the German Paralympic Committee, said during the Games. "She's still very young, there's a lot of scope for development. But she also keeps a cool head," he said.
The closing ceremony on Sunday brought to an end the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which began on February 7.
hc/jm (SID, dpa)