German's new 100 metres star Owen Ansah believes racist comments about him online show he is doing something right.
Ansah won the national championships in Braunschweig on Saturday in 9.99 seconds, becoming the first German to break the 10-second barrier in regular wind conditions. Soon afterwards, racist comments appeared online, but the 23-year-old is unperturbed.
"I don't really give a damn. It goes in one ear and out the other. I have my friends and family with me and my people who support me. Of course there are always haters, but that doesn't bother me at all," he told broadcaster NDR on Tuesday.
"Comments like that always spur me on to continue in the same way. They show that I'm on the right track. I'm now getting the attention we (as German athletes) all deserve."
Ansah, whose father is from Ghana, now wants to focus on the Paris Olympics from July 26-August 11.
The German Athletics Association (DLV) is considering filing criminal charges against the internet trolls.
"This is the right way to go, because these are things that you cannot do," he added.
