He has received an invitation to Schloss Bellevue from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and one from DFB Director Oliver Bierhoff to visit Germany's top footballers: circumnavigator Boris Herrmann is a much sought-after man after his successful Vendée Globe premiere. Fans of the 39-year-old were able to witness this live on their screens every day last weekend. Herrmann had already opened the series of celebrity appearances on 6 February. In a conversation with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which was broadcast live on Instagram and also attended by his wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, the skipper of the "Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco" reviewed his race and answered the German head of state's interested questions. The attentive dialogue also covered Herrmann's scientific mission in the fight against climate change and the joint educational project of Boris Herrmann and Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, who want to get children and young people interested in the world's oceans and their health and motivate them to get involved with "My Ocean Challenge". Steinmeier said to Boris Herrmann: "Your commitment and passion for the environment and in the fight against climate change - you are just as convincing as your sailing." Herrmann responded spontaneously and sportingly to Steinmeier's invitation to visit him at Bellevue Palace and continue the conversation, inviting the Federal President to visit him on board.
Boris Herrmann and his wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann in dialogue with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
One day later, Boris Herrmann was in demand for the current sports studio on ZDF. Click here for the replay (please click!). Herrmann broke new ground in every respect during his appearance: having grown up without a television (which he still doesn't have), he had never seen the traditional programme before. In the sports studio, Boris Herrmann confirmed that he has already set his sights on another Vendée Globe participation, saying: "That's my biggest dream. You often curse it during the race. Then you cross the finish line. It's like a huge pain pill. You forget about the hardships and the loneliness and are immediately taken back by the fascination." In view of the imminent sale of the Imoca yacht that has just carried him around the world in a good 80 days, Herrmann and his team are planning a new build. "I'm confident that we'll manage it. We have a lot of good ideas, we want to build a new one as soon as possible and, of course, we'd like to sail for victory next time." When asked by Sportstudio presenter Sven Voss, Herrmann confirmed with a smile that his wife had already given the green light for another participation. In the Sportstudio final, the sailor scored two goals straight away in the classic goal-shooting competition in the studio, even without much football experience.
From Mainz, Herrmann then travelled on to Cologne. There, one evening later, he was a guest on the ARD sports programme and presenter Alexander Bommes and played the "lucky fairy" in the draw for the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Many people from Kiel, who know Herrmann well as a sailor, watched him particularly closely. In their eyes, Herrmann had drawn a "doable" opponent for the second division club Holstein Kiel with the amateurs of Rot-Weiß Essen. While still in the studio, DFB Director Oliver Bierhoff, who was also present, invited Boris Herrmann to visit the national team: "I think the whole of Germany is impressed by what Boris has achieved. I would like to invite him to join the team, because we always benefit from such personalities." Bierhoff was particularly impressed by Herrmann's ability to focus and his stamina - qualities that can't hurt in German football either.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
