Robert Harting won his first global discus title in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin at the 2009 World Championships and the 32-year-old is poised to take his final bow in the same arena at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships next summer.
“I am looking forward to this year and next, then after that I’ll just be watching,” Harting told Leichtathletik.de in a recent interview.
While it is far from uncommon to see discus throwers performing well in their mid-to-late 30s, Harting has been struggling with injuries in recent seasons. He missed the entirety of the 2015 season with a knee ligament rupture and his Olympic preparations were dealt a blow last year after tearing a chest muscle while training in Florida.
Harting seemed to be approaching his best form ahead of his Olympic title defence last summer when he defeated his younger brother Christoph for the German title with a season’s best of 68.04m in the sixth round but the reigning champion picked up another untimely back injury in the lead-up to Rio de Janeiro and exited in qualifying.
But between 2009 and 2014, Harting didn’t lose a significant competition. He picked up six major titles in as many seasons, including the 2012 Olympic title and the 2012 and 2014 European titles not to mention a hat-trick of world titles. He also amassed a 35-competition win streak spanning four seasons and his hulk-like shirt rip celebration became a trademark at the major championships.
Even though Robert is poised to retire next summer, there should be another Harting on the scene for a while. Christoph, 26, succeeded him as Olympic champion in Rio last summer and recently signalled his intention to compete through until the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships, through 7-12 August, will be part of the inaugural multi-sport European Championships in Glasgow and Berlin.