73 years after the German Olympic Society (DOG) was founded, a member of the von Opel family has once again taken over the leadership of the organization. Gregor von Opel, the youngest son of the founding president Georg von Opel, born in 1968, has been appointed by the executive committee as the successor to the previous president Peter von Löbbecke. He is to be confirmed in office at the general meeting in October. “When I joined the DOG thirty years ago, it was more of a family obligation,” says von Opel in an interview with the F.A.Z.: “In contrast, today it’s about the Promoting sport, there is a lot to do here and I want to make my contribution.” Building on old successes Opel is less committed to promoting top athletes and Olympic participants than to enabling children and young people to exercise. A business economist and manager of the family assets, he heads the Opel Hessian Zoo Foundation in Kronberg im Taunus and the Walking Foundation, both of which were founded by his father. At the head of the DOG, he also wants to continue the successes of the entrepreneur and athlete, who is best known as a rower In the 1950s, he initiated the Golden Plan, the federal government’s program for the construction of sports facilities. A few years after the war started by the National Socialists, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was also convinced by the argument that sport and club life provide important impetus for democracy. Improve the framework conditions “We are no longer the nation we were,” says Gregor von Opel, and he doesn’t primarily mean the poorer performance of German athletes at world championships and the Olympic Games compared to before. He also alludes to the widespread lack of exercise among children, adolescents and young adults. “Every individual and society as a whole needs sport,” he says and praises the federal government for its two exercise summits. In particular, he wants to help improve the framework conditions for exercise in clubs, kindergartens and schools. More on the topic He wants to build bridges between sport, politics and business, advocate for the construction of sports facilities and the ideas of fair play and the connecting effect of sport strengthen. This is not a paradigm shift for the DOG, he says: “We have always been committed to youth sports. Popular sport is close to the DOG. The DOG is not a select association, but as a non-profit organization invites all sports enthusiasts to take part. Out of his passion for cycling, one of his many sporting commitments, Gregor von Opel became the founder and partner of the bicycle manufacturer Opelit, based at the old Opel location in Rüsselsheim.
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