Gold in the 200 meter final had, and now it is historic, won by a German, Ansah, 25, a native of Hamburg. His time: 19.95 seconds. If there hadn't been an impermissibly strong tailwind, Ansah would have broken the German record. He is now the first German European champion over 200 meters in 44 years, when Olaf Prenzler won gold for the GDR in Athens in 1982.
What a wonderful evening for German athletics, which had not shone on the international stage in men's sprints for so many years. Even the stadium announcer gave a short, loving eulogy in German-English: "You were very fast. It's wonderful. The winner of the 200 meters, Owen Ansah!"
This evening in Birmingham could hardly have had a better script from a German perspective. And yet this story has now reached an even more dramatic height. Because it is a title that the currently best sprinter in Europe does not know whether and for how long he can keep it.
Suspected doping test refusal: Nada demands four-year ban
Ansah is the focus of the National Anti-Doping Agency NADA because of an allegedly refused doping test on July 9, 2026. She is demanding a four-year ban for the sprinter, as she announced a week ago on Friday; she has completed the so-called results management process. Ansah can accept NADA's "sanction proposal" within 20 days of receiving the sanction notice - then the ban would be reduced to "only" three years. Or he does not accept it, then he can request that disciplinary proceedings be initiated at the German Sports Arbitration Court.
His lawyer said: "Our client Owen Ansah never refused to carry out a doping test. He never refused to submit a sample. At no time did Owen Ansah say or give the impression that he did not want to carry out a doping test. Owen Ansah will not accept Nada's 'sanction proposal'. He is focusing on the upcoming European Athletics Championships."
Ansah then focused so much on this European Championship that he is now returning home with a bronze medal in the 100 meters and as European champion in the 200 meters; The German Athletics Association canceled him again for the relays because in the event of a doping ban, not only would his own results be canceled, but also those of the relays.
Ansah also seemed to have nerves of steel in Birmingham this week. Showing such races under these circumstances is astonishing. He also submitted to every interview, was always polite, and answered all questions, including those about his possible crime - even if only evasively. Only on Thursday did he break off a TV conversation because he didn't want to hear any more questions about it.
You have to withstand such pressure first. And then just keep flying over the track as if everything was rolling off you.
So on Friday he came into the interview zone as European champion and answered questions for eight minutes. Regarding the doping test issue, he said politely but firmly: "As I said on Tuesday, I'm concentrating on the things that I can influence. Today I was able to show again that I'm free in my head. I won the gold medal, let's talk about it, that's the focus right now. I wouldn't like to talk about the other things. It's an ongoing process, I ask you to respect this again now."
Shortly before Ansah, the Swiss bronze winner Timothé Mumenthaler passed by. How does he assess his situation? "Oh, I don't want to comment on that, it's none of my business. Owen won gold, good for him!" said Mumenthaler. Shortly after Ansah, Zharnel Hughes, the silver winner, said when asked if he knew about the Ansah case? “To be honest: no.” And disappeared.
Even if the topic is pushed aside among athletes, it has now arrived on the big stage. Since Friday, Ansah, this impressive gold sprinter from Germany, has been in the focus of the international public. And it is not without a certain personal tragedy that this man cannot really enjoy this success in the week of the greatest success of his career. His performances always have a double bottom; a shadow constantly follows him.
On Friday evening, Ansah talked about his three-year-old son, to whom he dedicated the victory: "He always celebrates the fact that I'm fast, always wants to run with me. Only one person is allowed to be faster than me, and that's my little son. Now I'll let him go first." He reported on his coach Sebastian Bayer, with whom he moved to Mannheim in 2021 as a 20-year-old, and to whom he also dedicated the victory. He explained his tattoos on his arms, his mother on the left, his son on the right. And he described that his strength was the flying area: "The goal is to achieve the time under 20 seconds legally. I think it's only a matter of time before I can do that."
Did Ansah refuse the doping test? Were there any formal errors on the part of the inspector?
He just didn't say anything else about July 9, 2026. What exactly happened on that day when the inspector asked him to take a doping test, but he was just in the toilet and on the way to the plane anyway because he had spontaneously moved up to an important international meeting? Did he refuse the sample and then sign the relevant form? Did the inspector even explain the consequences to him and give him enough time to read the form? Or were there formal errors on the part of the inspector? Were there any witnesses who supported Ansah's version? The upcoming trial could drag on for years and end up before the Cas International Court of Arbitration for Sports.
The good thing for Ansah: He can continue running for the time being and collect medals and titles. At the end of this almost fairytale night he said: “I'm 25, they say that you don't reach the perfect sprinter's age until you're 27. I still have a few years left.” But only if the story with Nada ends well for him. If not, then sprinter Owen Ansah will have to explain to his son at some point why he won European Championship gold in Birmingham but then lost everything.
