Germany pick 75-strong team for world championships

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[وحدهم المديرون لديهم صلاحيات معاينة هذه الصورة] Betty Heidler

Germany's athletics federation is sending a 75-strong team to the world athletics championships beginning this month in Daugu, South Korea.

"We are sending a large and strong team with a higher level of performance to Daegu," DLV sports director Thomas Kurschilgen told German Press Agency dpa Monday.

Germany will be looking to match the haul of nine medals including two golds when they finished sixth in the medals standings at the last world championships on home soil in Berlin in 2009.

However the young team will also be hoping to show its potential to compete for medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

Its best hopes of honours at the Daegu worlds between August 27 and September 4 appear to be in field events where women's hammer world record holder Betty Heidler, Christina Obergfoell in the javelin and defending men's discus champion Robert Harting are among medals candidates.

Germany are however without three top women in European sprint champion Verena Sailer, women's hurdler Carolin Nytra and high-jumper Ariane Friedrich who are either injured or on the way back from injury.