Germany ended the Paris Olympics on 12 golds, 33 medals overall and 10th place, their worst summer Games since reunification in 1990. Although they picked up two more golds than in Tokyo three years ago, the total of 33 medals was four fewer than in Japan and at the low end of expectations. Tenth place in the rankings is also worse than Tokyo, where Germany came ninth. At the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Games, the German team were among the top six nations. Jörg Bügner, sporting director at the German Athletics Association, summarized what he thought was the problem in one sentence: “We write E…