Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo has said being chosen as German flag bearer for this summer's Paris Games along with basketball World Cup winner Dennis Schröder would be a symbol against racism but that far more engagement is needed.
"It's about symbolism. Symbolism is nice, but it's not enough," Mihambo told Saturday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
"I don't believe that symbolism will save what is going wrong right now."
Mihambo said she was happy that Germans are taking to the streets these days to defend democratic values because "the majority, which is silent, stands up and shows: Here are our limits."
Mihambo, who won world titles in 2019 and 2022 plus Olympic gold in 2021, and 2023 world champion Schröder are strong candidates to carry the German flag at the Paris opening ceremony on July 26.
Schröder has said on several occasions he would love to be flag bearer but a decision will not come until shortly before the Games in a vote by fans and Olympic team members.
Mihambo and Schröder were born in Germany, with Mihambo's father from Zanzibar and Schröder's mother from Gambia.
Both have said they have been subject to racism and hate speech.
Schröder said that almost every social media post from him and his wife draws racist remarks: "Some insult me because I am together with a white person, others insult Ellen because she is together with a black person."
Mihambo said she is not experiencing the same in her own channels but rather in comments on public accounts. She said she tries to avoid reading them and added: "We must learn again what tolerance means."