In autumn, Amos Bartelsmeyer was at a crossroads. The summer, which should have been a very special one for the 28-year-old, with a World Championships in his adopted home of Oregon and continental title fights in Munich and thus the country for which the athlete has been competing since 2019, had been disappointing. Due to the after-effects of a corona disease, the runner, who specializes in the 1500-meter course, missed both home games. In addition, the contract with the sporting goods manufacturer Nike, which secured Bartelsmeyer's livelihood and membership of a training group in the USA, expired. Thoughts arose to end his professional career. After completing his master's degree in finance, Bartelsmeyer also has other career paths open to him. Half a year later, the Eintracht Frankfurt athlete knows that not giving up was the right thing to do.
This Thursday he will start at the European Indoor Championships in the Ataköy Arena in Istanbul. In the heats in the evening (19 pm), the sixth-placed driver of 2019 wants to recommend himself for the final on Friday (18.40 pm) and reach for a medal with a "clever race". Third place in the entry list headed by Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes this seem realistic. If it doesn't work out, "the world won't end," says Bartelsmeyer. The European Championship under the roof is just "another building block" on the way to his goal outdoors: "I want to be among the best at the starting line in a World Cup final," says the 2021 Olympian.
Injuries slowed him down
Bartelsmeyer repeatedly slowed down health complaints: in 2020 a fatigue fracture in the hip, in 2021 one on the foot. Nevertheless, he had reached the plane to the Games in Tokyo – but there he failed in the first round. Bartelsmeyer was only able to develop his talent for running, which had already been hinted at in elementary school, over short phases. Now the 1.82-meter-tall and 62-kilogram runner feels fit and confident enough to attack.
The turning point for the better came at the beginning of December. Finally released from the consequences of Corona, he wanted to recommend himself with a good 5000-meter race at his outfitter for continued employment. The season opener in Boston was a sensation: Bartelsmeyer set a new German indoor record in 13:17.71 minutes and improved Arne Gabius' record from 2015 by almost ten seconds. Sam Parsons, who like him slipped into the German jersey in 2019 and came to Eintracht, but is now on the road for Berlin, should top this performance a month later in 13:12.78.
Record set over one mile
But Bartelsmeyer also followed up and pulverized the 3-year-old German record over the mile of Jens-Peter Herold (50:45.29) in 3:53.74 minutes at the beginning of February. With the split time of 3:34.72 minutes, he undercut the European Championship standard of 3:37.40 and was able to start and win a week later relaxed at the German Championships in Dortmund. Bartelsmeyer cites the fact that he has been able to practice continuously for months as the reason for his good form. In addition, in the smaller group at the Union Athletics Club, to which he switched at the beginning of the year thanks to another cooperation with Nike, he will train more individually in all areas than in the unit previously subscribed to longer distances. His new coach is Pete Julian, who led Konstanze Klosterhalfen to the European title over 2022 meters in 5000.
Between Dortmund and his flight to Istanbul, the German-American, who holds two passports, enjoyed his time in his mother's homeland. "I miss Germany when I'm in the US for a longer period of time, and vice versa," says the young man with the reddish hair. Bartelsmeyer was born in Aschaffenburg and spent the first two years of his life in Frankfurt. "My parents wanted to stay here," says the son. But his father, a lawyer, was supposed to work in the US again. Amos grew up in St. Louis, but regularly spent his summers with his grandmother in Aschaffenburg. At home, a "mishmash" of German and English is spoken.
Bartelsmeyer had the idea of starting for Germany for some time. In Germany, he reckoned better chances of international starts than in the USA. "But I wouldn't have done this if I didn't have a relationship here," he says. At the German Indoor Championships 2019, he immediately secured second place over 3000 meters. In the same summer he became German outdoor champion over 1500 meters and made it to the semifinals at the World Championships in Doha. Then the pandemic hit. 2023 will be with several highlights: European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Outdoor World Championships in Budapest, and in October the wedding with his fiancée in Portland is planned.