Seite 2/3 Sportwoche, Nr. 48/30.11.04 Interview: Manfred Behr

I now know how top politicians feel. When you are asked about every possible thing on a daily basis, it's impossible to always be witty and brilliant. Even Thomas Gottschalk, who masters this much better than I can, does it only three times per show - and he has a large team behind him. I am not an entertainer. I also don't have to be.

No. New questions are no less fun than before. However, it gets boring if I am too frequently asked the same questions. The same goes for listeners and readers. If, for instance, the reporters ask me again and again about the goals for the European championships, then my answer possibilities are limited: Gold, first place, a win in the 200 m backstroke. Sometimes I almost slipped out with: Why don't you simply read what your colleagues have already written.

I don't put up a division. But sometimes I would prefer a little less media attention. At the moment, the media find almost everything that I do interesting. An example: I have latterly become a member of the Viennese basketball association BBC Energie. We are an ambitious team, the average age about 40 years old, and we want to climb up the third district league. During the game, I managed to achieve a perfect dunk, I was insanely proud. This had scarcely been made known, before journalists asked if they could come round. I don't demand the attention. The attention is directed at me. What bothers me is when the impression is promoted of also 'being there'.

When the demand is there, many people act as though they can come up with exact calculations. But most of the numbers are taken from thin air.