"In keen anticipation"
Corona turns everything upside down. Even top-class sport. How is Team Schmidbauer doing in the lockdown? We asked Werner Schmidbauer.
Hello Werner, just after training and competition had picked up speed in the summer and fall, all wheels have now come to a standstill again in the winter. What does the second lockdown mean for Team Schmidbauer?
This is of course very disappointing for everyone. The athletes, their coaches, and support staff have to continue to exercise patience. Even though this is certainly anything but easy for top-athletes.
We remain loyal to our team in these difficult times and are looking to the future with confidence and motivation. This is a great team and together we set high goals to achieve in the coming years.
How do you keep athletes, coaches, and sponsors in good spirits during the non-competitive period?
We are talking a lot. We've been exchanging ideas frequently and intensively in joint video calls. This gives everyone involved a lot of energy when motivation is at rock-bottom without achievable goals. I have the highest respect for the way our team completes its training workload with great commitment and hard work, even under difficult conditions. It is certainly anything but easy to keep up the necessary inner tension without the opportunity to compete.
How do you experience the athletes and the coaches?
They face the situation with professionalism, a lot of passion, and great determination. I have a lot of respect for our coaches, especially Matthias, for the way they overcome their own lack of motivation in order to be there for their athletes and not let the thread in performance break. The athletes behave absolutely exemplary. After overcoming an injury, Jojo Trefz is eager to prove himself internationally. Just like Arne Leppelsack and Michi Adolph. Korbinian Suckfüll and Michael Schäfer are using the time to get back to the top level with a lot of effort after injuries. So there are a lot of stories to tell right now that I appreciate.
What are your expectations for the 2021 sports year?
Team Schmidbauer is very well positioned. With Christine Schreiber I have a new employee on board who is incredibly committed to bringing structure to our processes, driving communication forward and, together with the TSV players from department management and sports, setting the guard rails for the team's success. We are on a very good path. I do hope that in 2021 we will be able to resume regular training as well as competition schedules at some point. The World Athletics Relays on May 1 in Poland would be a first highlight that could solve the tickets for Tokyo. Let's see if the Olympic Games can actually start, and then there are the European Games 2022 in Munich. We'd like to have a say in that.
Interview held by Markus Schick, January 2021
