In December 2005, Becker impressed as an 18-year-old debutant at the Olympic Days in his hometown of Dresden. After gaining his first international experience at the Junior World Championships in early 2006, he rose from A-Junior to Senior, i.e. national team athlete, at the beginning of the 2006/07 season. Accordingly, the DESG used the athlete in the first World Cup of the new winter , in the races held in Changchun , China . Among about 30 starters he reached 20th place in both races. With further good results, for example a twelfth place in February 2007, he established himself in the extended world elite and at the end of the season, thanks to his consistent placings, he finished 13th in the 500-meter World Cup. At the same time, he became German champion with the relay for the first time this season and also won three individual medals. At the age of 20, he belonged to the national elite from 2007, although Tyson Heung , who was the first German to win the 500-meter World Cup, was even more successful.
In the 2007/08 season , Becker's success waned a little. Despite another 15th place, he was not placed in the top 30 in the overall rankings; only in the season did he reach the finals once and thus a fourth place. At the German Championships he again achieved four medals, including a golden one with the relay. The situation remained similar in the following winter : Becker showed solid performances in the individual competitions - in Dresden he achieved eleventh place as the best result - and was regularly used in the relay. In the last two relay races of the season, Germany achieved a podium result for the first time in two years, each time a third place. At the World and European Championships, however, Germany did not repeat the results from the World Cup, but was eliminated in the semifinals without medals.
The first Olympic season for Becker began in September, so the qualifying competitions for the German short trackers also took place early in the season. This qualification was linked to some World Cup races, in which the Dresdner started less successfully on the individual routes, but fulfilled the Olympic standard with the relay. A fourth place at the last World Cup in Marquette was enough. Together with 43 other German athletes and as one of six Short trackers Becker was the DOSB on 17 December 2009 for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver nominated .
Web links
Robert Becker in the database of ShorttrackOnLine.info (English)
Germany
