35: Anna Apel, Team Germany’s Young Gun
Anna is a boulder & lead climber from team Germany and one of the younger athletes I’ve interviewed so far as she still competed in youth world champs last year. In this episode, we’ll talk about the differences between the youth and senior circuit, the pressure of expectations after FLASHING all qualis boulders in Innsbruck, and we get some insight into team Germany.
Timestamps
Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - Mad Rock Shoutout!!
3:50 - Starting climbing at 3!
8:18 - Competing in youth and Senior Circuit at the same time
12:27 - Youth setting vs senior setting
14:42 - Big performance boost in 2024
17:23 - Flashing all Innsbruck quails boulders
22:22 - Why younger climbers dominate the WC circuit
25:09 - German national team
30:04 - German military sponsorship
34:04 - 2025 season
36:19 - Finding out if the combined format will be in LA 2028
39:05 - Non-climbing hobbies + sewing!
42:23 - Outdoor projects
43:28 - IG Q: What is the hardest part of being an athlete?
49:06 - IG Q: Tips on improving arm strength
50:27 - IG Q: Where can I buy the Germany down jacket?
51:12 - IG Q: Non-climbing related goal
52:58 - IG Q: Thoughts on the minimum BMI requirement
57:29 - Outro and where to find Anna
-
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,340
Yeah, after China I definitely get a lot of pressure.
2
00:00:06,340 --> 00:00:10,960
Because I kind of saw what was possible and...
3
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:16,740
Weeks or months where nothing is going in the right direction and you kind of get weaker
4
00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:21,940
and weaker and don't really know what is going wrong.
5
00:00:21,940 --> 00:00:29,680
I think the weirdest part was that I was climbing next to Janja and she's one of my role models
6
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:35,080
and yeah, complete idol.
7
00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:43,160
We are having stricture BMI rules here in Germany than the IFSC.
8
00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:47,040
Welcome to another episode of the That's Not World Climbing podcast.
9
00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:52,000
I'm your host Jinni and I'm excited to introduce my guest for today, Anna Apel.
10
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,880
Anna is a boulder and lead climber from Team Germany and one of the younger athletes I've
11
00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,840
interviewed so far as she still competed in Youth World Champs last year.
12
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,120
In this episode we'll talk about the differences between the youth and senior circuit, the
13
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:10,720
pressure of expectations after flashing all qualies boulders in Innsbruck, and we get
14
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,040
some insight into Team Germany and BMI testing.
15
00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:25,120
I hope you enjoy this episode with Anna.
16
00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,960
Real quick, I'm excited to announce my new sponsor helping make this podcast episode
17
00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:31,120
possible, Mad Rock Climbing.
18
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,000
I got fitted with their brand new line of high performance shoes, the D2.1s.
19
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,760
They just came out December 6th, but you might notice a few of your favorite gum climbers
20
00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:46,260
are already wearing them like Oscar Boudrand from Team Canada and also me.
21
00:01:46,260 --> 00:01:49,760
This is the first time I've gotten to wear their shoes for an extended period of time
22
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,120
and I'm actually super impressed with the grip of their in-house rubber and of course
23
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:59,400
the famous drone heel that everyone says is the cheat code to heel hooking small edges.
24
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,400
Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the shoes or sizing and you can use
25
00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:09,040
the discount code notrealclimber for 10% off your entire Mad Rock order.
26
00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,160
Info will be in the description.
27
00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:12,160
Back to the show.
28
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:13,160
How are you doing today?
29
00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,160
Good.
30
00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,080
I had a rest day today, so it was a very chill day.
31
00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,720
It was very snowy in Munich today, but yeah, nice day.
32
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,480
Do you like the snow or no?
33
00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:30,600
I like the snow, but it was a lot of traffic on the road, so that was a bit problematic.
34
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,880
Yeah, I do not miss the snow.
35
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:39,320
I moved away from that a while ago and I'm happy to not experience it anymore.
36
00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,120
Yeah, so you're just spending time at home in Germany?
37
00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:49,920
Yeah, currently we're like in our training, just doing our normal training in our training
38
00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:50,920
center.
39
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,720
So here in Munich and in Augsburg.
40
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,760
Yeah, so right in the depths of winter training.
41
00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:04,280
Do you spend a lot of time traveling during the winter season or is that just reserved
42
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,240
for when it's World Cups?
43
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,440
Currently I'm more or less all the time in Munich.
44
00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:21,000
Sometimes I'm traveling to Innsbruck or also to Bricsen or Brunach just to see some other
45
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,440
settings and other gyms.
46
00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:33,040
But the main traveling will be during the World Cup scene and all the comps.
47
00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:39,360
Do you find it helps to just stay in one place during your big winter training season?
48
00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,040
It helps you stay focused or something like that?
49
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:48,560
Yeah, because here is like my training days and the people I know and my coach and it
50
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,080
makes it a bit more simple for me.
51
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,800
Cool, so let's get right into it.
52
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,920
When did you start climbing and then competing?
53
00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,080
I started climbing very early.
54
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:08,560
So at the age of three, my parents took me to the rock and yeah, I kind of started to
55
00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:19,920
get in touch with climbing and climb my first routes and also had a lot of fun doing that.
56
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:24,080
Do you actually remember climbing when you're like three years old?
57
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:29,040
No, I can't remember climbing.
58
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,560
I know what my first route was.
59
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:38,480
It was called Binna Maja and I got my first climbing shoes because I topped the route,
60
00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,480
but I don't really know how I felt.
61
00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:50,000
I just know from like tellings and stories that I really liked it to be outside and climb.
62
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:58,480
And then I also started competing here in Munich on like smaller comps and I was not
63
00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:05,560
immediately on the top, so I needed some time.
64
00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:11,800
And yeah, then from time to time and more comps, I also got better.
65
00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:17,840
And yeah, I always enjoyed climbing and training.
66
00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:24,960
So that was kind of what kept me on the comp climbing.
67
00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,680
How old were you when you started doing competitions?
68
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,600
I think I was about like six or seven years old.
69
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,640
Oh, that's super young.
70
00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:34,640
Wow.
71
00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:35,640
Yeah.
72
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,320
And then those were more fun comps.
73
00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:48,800
Then from the age 10 on, I started to compete in like the Bavarian scene and then on the
74
00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:55,240
national scene and yeah, then also some international comps.
75
00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:01,840
Do you remember like, did you feel pressure when you were doing even like the fun competitions
76
00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:02,840
or?
77
00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:08,320
No, I think there was never a lot of pressure on me also.
78
00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:17,840
My parents never told me to get like any specific results and I was always happy when I got,
79
00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:25,600
for example, into finals because I was always kind of a person who wanted to be on the big
80
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:32,040
stage and I really enjoyed, for example, the presentation for finals.
81
00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:41,240
So that was kind of my goal to be like in the spotlight, but I never put me under pressure
82
00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:52,920
to get like completely specific results during like the early start of my career.
83
00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:59,920
And of course, from time to time and from, yeah, also with better results, the pressure
84
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:09,120
got bigger and a lot of people also kind of put pressure on me, but I always try to like
85
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:17,720
stay in my bubble and still enjoy the training and climbing process more than just putting
86
00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:22,160
myself under pressure to get good results.
87
00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,880
And since you started so early, did your parents also climb?
88
00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:26,880
Yeah.
89
00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:32,940
So my parents also climb and that's why they took me to the rock.
90
00:07:32,940 --> 00:07:33,940
Just outdoor?
91
00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:35,560
Did they also compete and stuff too?
92
00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:36,560
No, no.
93
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,560
They just climbed for fun and still do it for fun.
94
00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:46,680
And my brother is also still climbing, but no comps.
95
00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,680
Do you feel like you're generally a very competitive person?
96
00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,280
Is that why or what like draws you specifically to competing?
97
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:54,280
Yeah, for sure.
98
00:07:54,280 --> 00:08:02,040
I'm a very like, I'm a competitive person and also compare myself to a lot of other
99
00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:10,760
people also in like other areas, not just in climbing.
100
00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:18,920
And I also always strive to like get the best version out of me.
101
00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:19,920
Yeah.
102
00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,880
So you're definitely one of like the younger athletes that I've interviewed so far and
103
00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,960
you're still competing in the youth circuit right now?
104
00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:38,560
Last year I still competed in the youth circuit, also climbed on Youth Worlds, but in this season
105
00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:44,080
I won't be competing in the youths anymore.
106
00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:45,080
I'm too old.
107
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,800
Okay, yeah, I guess you're just on the cusp of aging out of it.
108
00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:54,440
So like last year you were still competing in the youth circuit, but you were also doing
109
00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,120
the senior circuit as well.
110
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,680
Why did you decide to compete in both?
111
00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:00,440
It doesn't seem like a lot of people do that.
112
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:05,080
They kind of just like graduate from one to the other and then they don't go back to youth.
113
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,840
It was not really like a decision I made.
114
00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,480
It just came like that.
115
00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:19,040
I also competed in World Cups already, I think three years ago.
116
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:31,560
But at that time I don't know, placed 16th or yeah, just not near the semis.
117
00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:39,920
And then like over the last two years I competed on some World Cups, but just on the ones here
118
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:41,920
in Europe.
119
00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:53,280
And yeah, then just last year I started to climb more on the World Cups and in the senior
120
00:09:53,280 --> 00:10:01,040
scene because I got stronger and saw that there's potential that I could climb into
121
00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,040
semis or even finals.
122
00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:11,840
And that's why the German coaches decided that I can start on World Cups as well.
123
00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,800
As well as in the youth scene.
124
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,240
But they still wanted you to participate in the youth competitions?
125
00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:24,360
No, I wanted to compete in the youth competitions.
126
00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:33,440
I also just won European Cup and the Youth World Championships because I wanted to compete
127
00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,480
in my last Youth World Championships.
128
00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:42,840
That was just my decision because I wanted to go there.
129
00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:49,000
Like the location specifically or did you want to, like were you hoping for a specific
130
00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:50,000
result?
131
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,640
Yeah, I was definitely hoping for a specific result.
132
00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:01,240
And yeah, my chances were also very good.
133
00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:12,000
And I feel like in the youth circuit, I mean, I know all the girls who climb there and yeah,
134
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,240
it was just a nice comp, I would say.
135
00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,680
And also a comp where I could just kind of enjoy climbing.
136
00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:22,560
Yeah, how did it end up going?
137
00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:23,600
Was it a good time?
138
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:28,720
Was it everything you hoped for your last Youth World Championships?
139
00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,360
Unfortunately not.
140
00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:41,600
I messed up lead climbing in semifinals because just of a stupid mistake.
141
00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:52,080
And in bouldering, I was feeling strong until finals and then in finals, I felt super weak.
142
00:11:52,080 --> 00:12:00,080
And after the third problem, I just couldn't get something out of my body anymore.
143
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,440
And then I placed third.
144
00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:09,720
So it was a good result and I wanted to have a medal, but it was not the color of the medal
145
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,720
I was aiming for.
146
00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:12,720
Sure.
147
00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,960
I mean, yeah, that's not bad at all though.
148
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:22,360
In terms of, is there like monetary prizes for the youth circuit as well?
149
00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:24,560
No, no, no.
150
00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:29,160
So it's just for bragging rights.
151
00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,800
And so then how does the youth circuit compare to the senior circuit?
152
00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:40,280
Do you feel like the competition is just as strong in youth or is it easier?
153
00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:46,640
So of course the setting is kind of different.
154
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:57,680
Often in the youth circuit, the boulders are set differently than in the world cup circuit.
155
00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:02,200
Can you sort of articulate what the differences are?
156
00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,000
I don't know.
157
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,680
It's just kind of a different style sometimes.
158
00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:18,120
And in the bouldering world cup, for example, the qualification, the boulders are often
159
00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:24,400
kind of straight ups because of the like not that much space.
160
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:35,480
And in the youth circuit, often they are more like coordination boulders or yeah, a bit
161
00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:40,240
more variety maybe.
162
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:47,440
And last year I didn't have that much crush on the youth circuit because I knew that I
163
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,440
was one of the stronger girls.
164
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:55,160
So it was maybe a bit easier for me, for example, to win.
165
00:13:55,160 --> 00:14:02,520
But of course there are also more expectations when you're kind of the strongest.
166
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,920
So the people also expected from me that I would win.
167
00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:14,760
And when I'm going to a world cup, the people more likely don't expect me to win the world
168
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:15,760
cup.
169
00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:21,640
Of course, I'm also aiming for a very good result on a world cup and want to climb into
170
00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,200
finals.
171
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:32,960
But if I miss finals or even the semifinals, not everybody will look at me and say, what
172
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:34,040
did you do?
173
00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:41,320
Because I'm still young enough and there will still be a lot of chances for me in the
174
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:42,840
world cup scene.
175
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:49,160
Yeah, you also did a couple of senior comps in 2023.
176
00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,400
But the results were definitely not as good as your 2024 season.
177
00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,800
What do you feel like changed for you between those two years?
178
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:01,880
That's an interesting question because I don't really know.
179
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:13,640
So of course, I graduated in 2023 and then I kind of had more free time and more time
180
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,000
to train.
181
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,120
And the time I had, I think I trained a lot.
182
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:30,560
So from 2003 to 2024, I started to make more double sessions.
183
00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:38,040
And I don't know, I think I kind of doubled my training pencil.
184
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:44,720
And I think that was one of the main reasons why I just got stronger.
185
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:55,360
Yeah, and I really, really tried hard because I knew that when I give everything in that
186
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,160
year, I can also get very far.
187
00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:04,640
And then I already saw at the nomination comps that I'm like one of the stronger girls.
188
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:11,160
We also had some simulations with the Slovenians and the Austrians.
189
00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:18,760
And I was kind of shocked because I saw, oh my gosh, I can really, I can climb very good.
190
00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:29,600
And then when the first World Cup came up in China, my only goal was to make my first
191
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,360
World Cup top.
192
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:38,780
And yeah, then I did my first World Cup top and then I told myself I want to get into
193
00:16:38,780 --> 00:16:44,760
my first semifinal and then I was super happy to get into my first semifinal.
194
00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:53,840
And yeah, I think this comp kind of showed me that I really grew into that World Cup
195
00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:54,840
scene.
196
00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,920
Like from over the years, I gained more experience.
197
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:07,400
And yeah, in the last year, I could kind of show that I'm already having some experience
198
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:14,280
and because of the training, I got stronger and then I could also just bring it to the
199
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:15,280
wall.
200
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:16,280
Yeah.
201
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,520
Was your first semis also in China, like where you got the first top?
202
00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:20,520
Yeah.
203
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:21,520
Okay.
204
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:22,520
Yeah.
205
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:23,520
Awesome.
206
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:25,080
So you like greatly exceeded your expectations for that competition.
207
00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:32,960
I guess after that moment, did you kind of feel like pressure start to come in now that
208
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:38,920
you've kind of exceeded your expectations and you want to recreate that kind of moment?
209
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:39,920
Yeah.
210
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:54,480
After China, I definitely get a lot of pressure because I kind of saw what was possible and
211
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,080
that it could even be possible to climb into finals.
212
00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:05,120
And then I thought I also have to climb into semis in Salt Lake.
213
00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:10,120
And then I kind of got sick in Salt Lake and nothing really worked out.
214
00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,080
And it was just not my comp.
215
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:21,360
And then I placed I think 24th or 25th, 5th, I'm not sure, but I was out of semis and it
216
00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:25,680
was very, very hard for me.
217
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,880
But then I kind of told myself, okay, it's a world cup.
218
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:39,000
It's not just small competition where you just climb into semis like easy peasy.
219
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,400
I mean, if you're also sick, like...
220
00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,080
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
221
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:51,040
And then the pressure kind of fell off because then I saw, okay, you can climb into semis,
222
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,840
but you don't have to get into semis.
223
00:18:54,840 --> 00:19:00,040
It's the goal, but it's not kind of my duty.
224
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:10,480
And then in Innsbruck, I could just climb how I wanted and yeah, was completely free
225
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:11,480
in my mind.
226
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:20,240
And I think I had the best mindset I ever had in my whole comp career in Innsbruck because
227
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,720
I didn't have to overthink anything.
228
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:31,720
I was just warming up before a normal training session and told my coach I just want to have
229
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:36,320
fun in the mats and that was also what I did.
230
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:41,480
Yeah, I think you mentioned that that was maybe the best moment of your climbing career
231
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:42,480
so far.
232
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:43,480
Yeah.
233
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:48,000
Did you say that you flashed all the quali boulders in Innsbruck?
234
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,000
Yeah.
235
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:59,400
I flashed all of them and I looked at my coach and was like, am I dreaming or what is going
236
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:00,960
wrong here?
237
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:01,960
Yeah.
238
00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,400
What was your coach's reaction?
239
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:05,400
I don't know.
240
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:10,080
I think they just looked at me and were screaming and were the happiest people ever.
241
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:11,080
Yeah.
242
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,560
I think they were also kind of speechless.
243
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:14,560
Yeah.
244
00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:16,240
No, that's super awesome.
245
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,080
I can't even imagine how that would feel.
246
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:24,480
I guess how does it feel going out into summies as the last person going out?
247
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:25,480
Weird.
248
00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:26,480
Very weird.
249
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:34,040
I think the weirdest part was that I was climbing next to Janja and she's one of my role models
250
00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:38,440
and yeah, complete idol.
251
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:48,040
And I couldn't really concentrate on myself because of course the crowd was behind Janja
252
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,080
and not really behind me.
253
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:58,960
But it also kind of hyped me up because it was very loud and it was also very loud for
254
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:06,080
me and that was kind of pushing me and yeah, it felt good.
255
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:13,920
And it was not really putting me under pressure that I was the last person going out because
256
00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:20,320
I knew that I won't flash every boulder in semis.
257
00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:29,600
So it was, yeah, I still just enjoyed it and enjoyed climbing in semis because that was
258
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:34,000
my goal and I already, yeah, achieved it.
259
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Awesome.
260
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Yeah.
261
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:44,960
So would you want to be in that position again or would you prefer a different, I guess,
262
00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,000
starting list in semis?
263
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:53,400
I know some people prefer to go out sooner or later.
264
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,400
I think it doesn't really matter for me.
265
00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:03,680
In Prague, I was kind of starting, I think, in the middle into semis and it also felt
266
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:04,680
good.
267
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:10,920
So in China, I started as the first person, in Innsbruck as the last person and in Prague
268
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,320
as the middle person and everything was good.
269
00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:15,320
Okay.
270
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,680
So it doesn't matter for me.
271
00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:18,680
Awesome.
272
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:19,680
Okay.
273
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,440
Just having a good time climbing.
274
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:26,000
You also mentioned that you feel like a lot of young guns are breaking through the comp
275
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,880
scene right now.
276
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,860
Do you feel like, is there something about youth climbers you feel are better suited
277
00:22:32,860 --> 00:22:34,300
for the World Cups right now?
278
00:22:34,300 --> 00:22:39,080
Is it just a style thing or is it an age thing, do you think?
279
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:40,080
I don't know.
280
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:49,920
I think at the first World Cups, maybe the youth climbers can be kind of more chilled
281
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:55,720
because when you're climbing, for example, on your first World Cup, not everybody is
282
00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:03,600
looking at you and you can be a bit more relaxed in your mind and that's maybe sometimes helping
283
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:09,480
you because with expectations, the pressure is also rising and then it's sometimes harder
284
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:14,160
to get you climbing to the wall.
285
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,720
And for sure, I think the youth scene is also very strong.
286
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:31,360
So there are a lot of strong people climbing and yeah, maybe also the style from the World
287
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:36,240
Cups, which is often very new school.
288
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:44,200
I think a lot of the younger climbers and youth climbers trained this new school style
289
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:46,840
from a very early age on.
290
00:23:46,840 --> 00:24:01,280
So I did double dinos also already five years ago and I think a lot of the older athletes
291
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:09,160
sometimes struggle with dynamic boulders or very coordinated boulders because they didn't
292
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,080
do it in the early age.
293
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:15,800
Yeah, I've also heard some people say that they're kind of like bringing back power boulders
294
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,920
or like maybe old school like crimp moves.
295
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:23,640
How do you feel on those growing up like doing all the dynamic stuff?
296
00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:24,920
I like both.
297
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:30,480
So I also really like old school boulders.
298
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:40,160
I mean, I started on the rock and rock climbing for me is also kind of an old school climbing.
299
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:48,280
So I really like both styles and I feel like the mixture of like new school boulders and
300
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:56,360
old school boulders would be perfect when you're having like one very hard and powerful
301
00:24:56,360 --> 00:25:02,840
old school boulder but also maybe a fun coordinated jump.
302
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:03,840
Yeah.
303
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,760
Okay, sounds like you're an all-arounder then.
304
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:11,680
Okay, so then let's get into what it's like on Team Germany.
305
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,960
I think you're like the first German athlete that I've interviewed.
306
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:23,680
So yeah, you mentioned like training camps and like a national training center.
307
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,640
Do you guys generally train together as a team?
308
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,420
Please excuse this brief intermission but if you're interested in deleted scenes from
309
00:25:30,420 --> 00:25:35,160
this episode where we talk about her preferred boulder style and her training routine, do
310
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,620
consider helping support this podcast on Patreon.
311
00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:42,560
Some other perks include a membership pin shipped to you after two months, prioritize
312
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:47,540
guest questions or the ability to submit video questions and more to come.
313
00:25:47,540 --> 00:25:51,780
The proceeds go back into the podcast Help Me Break Even and they help me improve the
314
00:25:51,780 --> 00:25:54,180
experience of the guests.
315
00:25:54,180 --> 00:25:58,760
If you'd like to help out non-monetarily, liking, commenting and sharing helps a great
316
00:25:58,760 --> 00:25:59,760
deal as well.
317
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,120
Back to the show.
318
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:10,480
Yeah, so the German national team is having its training center here in Munich-Türkirchen
319
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:19,080
and they're also group trainings and sometimes training camps and special setting but I'm
320
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:30,640
also still training with the Bavarian squad in Augsburg which is also kind of a regional
321
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:45,000
training center and there are also very good training facilities especially for leap climbing
322
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:54,400
and that's why I'm training with the Bavarians and also with the adults from the German team
323
00:26:54,400 --> 00:27:05,640
and yeah there are also still some people who live in Cologne and training there but
324
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,360
that's kind of a different group.
325
00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:13,240
So is it like your five days a week, is that with the whole team or is it a lot of that
326
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:14,720
like by yourself too?
327
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:23,480
So it's a mixture on Tuesday and on Thursday I'm training with the Bavarian team and on
328
00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:34,760
Monday I'm training with the adult German team and the other days they are very like
329
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:40,480
sometimes I'm training alone, sometimes I'm training with some people here in the gyms
330
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:49,280
and some friends I just know from climbing so that really depends on what my mood is
331
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,040
and what my session will look like.
332
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,660
And then in terms of like training with the German team, is there anyone on the team you
333
00:27:57,660 --> 00:28:02,760
really look up to or you feel like you have either like a really similar style to or really
334
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:07,640
different style to that really helps with your training as well?
335
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:18,840
So I think I have kind of a similar style maybe to Hannah Meier but we are not often
336
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,800
training together because she's living in Cologne and I'm living in Munich and that
337
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:29,600
makes it sometimes a bit harder to train together.
338
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:39,160
But I feel like in our German team we're all very have very different styles but yeah and
339
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:46,120
maybe Lucia we also kind of maybe having more or less similar style.
340
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:50,800
Yeah I mean I guess there are also a lot of like strong women on the team.
341
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:57,860
I guess how's the dynamic there like do you feel very competitive against them or is it
342
00:28:57,860 --> 00:29:00,360
more like a friendly vibe?
343
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:09,840
So in training it's friendly-wide because we train together and we all know each other
344
00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:19,160
and also I think we all want to kind of get the best out of ourselves but also want to
345
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,040
support the others.
346
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:31,840
But of course we are having nomination comps and we are more girls than we have spots and
347
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:41,320
yeah then on the nomination comes we for sure are competitive and everybody wants to have
348
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:52,920
a spot and yeah then in the comp we're yeah of course comparing each other.
349
00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:57,280
But I think that's also very normal.
350
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:03,040
But after the comp and before the comp we are all very good friends and yeah.
351
00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:04,040
Just not during.
352
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,400
Also support each other.
353
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:14,640
And you mentioned that you recently finished taking tests to get the sports soldier I guess
354
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:16,840
what would you call it?
355
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,120
Position role like nomination?
356
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:35,800
So it's kind of the support program from yeah the German military and it's supporting us
357
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:42,000
like some special athletes so they are not a lot of spots.
358
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:52,400
I'm also currently the only girl which is supported by the military.
359
00:30:52,400 --> 00:31:05,280
It's a very good support system and it's giving me a lot of time for training and also I can
360
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:18,800
be financial independent and yeah it's a very very good program for me and I'm very happy
361
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,280
to be supported by the German military.
362
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,800
Like with the tests that you have to take for it like what does that entail?
363
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:35,760
We have to be on a specific kind of team so there's the national team but there's also
364
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:42,760
the Olympic team and the perspective team I don't know.
365
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:54,560
And I had to be in this specific team and need to have a chance to get to the Olympic
366
00:31:54,560 --> 00:32:02,960
Games and a perspective to get better in the next years.
367
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:07,000
So they have like specific requirements I guess based on like your results?
368
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:19,920
No they're not like specific requirements but you need to be good over a lot of years
369
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,720
and otherwise you will be kicked out.
370
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,760
Oh yeah okay.
371
00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,720
Does it manage to like support you full time or do you also have to take on like other
372
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,640
jobs at a gym or anything like that?
373
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,000
No no they're supporting me full time.
374
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:45,040
Of course I won't be getting rich but yeah it's enough to live.
375
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:49,000
Do you have any like plans of school or other work in the future?
376
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:50,000
Yeah.
377
00:32:50,000 --> 00:33:03,600
No no I would like to study and thinking about psychology or maybe also get a teacher.
378
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:07,640
But I'm still deciding I'm not sure.
379
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:14,520
In terms of like timelines since you do spend a lot of time training is that something you
380
00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:19,520
would want to push off until after maybe you're like done with your climbing career or is
381
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,440
it something that you kind of have to like do at the same time?
382
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:37,120
I think maybe I will start studying like next year or in two years also to kind of get something
383
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:45,920
next to climbing because when you're always concentrating only on one thing it will also
384
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:58,720
yeah kind of be stressful maybe and I think having something besides climbing could also
385
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,120
help me from time to time.
386
00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:07,280
But of course I will still do climbing as my full time.
387
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:08,800
Yeah okay that makes sense.
388
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:13,240
How are you feeling for like the upcoming 2025 season?
389
00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:25,120
I'm really looking forward to the 2025 season and yeah I'm already very very excited.
390
00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:33,880
Of course I have a bit more pressure than I had last year at this time because I know
391
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:45,960
that there are more people who expect something from me but I think I'm currently very very
392
00:34:45,960 --> 00:35:02,200
good also mentally and also training wise I'm on the right way and feeling strong.
393
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:12,280
So yeah I feel like I'm ready and also ready maybe to get better results than last year
394
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,960
and yeah I'm excited.
395
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:23,800
Do you have any like specific goals for the season or any world cups that you're particularly
396
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:25,000
excited for?
397
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:32,720
I would really really like to get into my first final on the world cup because it was
398
00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:38,960
so so close on two comps last year to get into the world cup final.
399
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,600
Yeah you had like some eighth places right?
400
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:52,720
Yeah I had two eighth places because of one try so I would be very happy if that goal
401
00:35:52,720 --> 00:36:00,840
could be achieved and I'm also looking forward to the world cup in Brazil because I've never
402
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:07,320
been to Brazil and I feel like that's very it sounds very exciting a world cup in Brazil
403
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:20,640
and apart from the bouldering world cup scene I'm hoping to get some spots on the lead world
404
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:31,840
cup scene next year to get some experience in lead climbing because I really yeah also
405
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:40,520
like to climb on the rope and yeah that would be great if that could work out next year
406
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,600
to climb on both disciplines.
407
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:47,400
Yeah I guess that's like kind of surprising to hear because I feel like a lot of people
408
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:52,960
would prefer to just do one or the other and they kind of only did both because they had
409
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,920
to for like the combined format.
410
00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:01,960
If they like get rid of the combined format and separate out boulder and lead would you
411
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:03,400
still want to do both?
412
00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:13,280
Yeah I would still like to do both because I can't decide what discipline I prefer but
413
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:21,640
I think in April it will be decided if in LA it will be a combined format or separated
414
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:31,080
so yeah I think then maybe I still have to decide but we will see.
415
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:35,760
Well I mean you could still do both and be great at both but it's good to know that it's
416
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,280
in April I didn't hear a date about that.
417
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,560
I'm not completely sure but I thought in April.
418
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:45,040
I'll have to keep an eye out.
419
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:49,720
Is it like do you know if like your coaches are going to kind of try to force you to pick
420
00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:54,200
one or the other so that you have like a better chance or will you be able to continue doing
421
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:55,200
both?
422
00:37:55,200 --> 00:38:06,160
I think I would still be able to do both but maybe not like I think I would have to maybe
423
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:16,200
stop competing in one discipline because doing both disciplines all World Cups is too much.
424
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:25,880
That's yeah too many comps but I still feel like when I'm training lead I'm also getting
425
00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:33,720
better in bouldering so I don't feel like I'm stopping one discipline completely which
426
00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:34,960
helped me.
427
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:42,360
I think I still need to like to train both disciplines to get stronger.
428
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:46,920
Yeah I would be really interested to see if they break it out who ends up competing in
429
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:53,920
both and if they're successful in doing trying to do both at the same time.
430
00:38:53,920 --> 00:39:00,720
Yeah I'd be really interested to see that but yeah earlier you mentioned that you are
431
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:06,400
just doing like climbing and training full time now but it is nice to like have something
432
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:11,000
on the side to not always be focused on the same thing.
433
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:16,520
I mean I guess right now you are always focused on climbing.
434
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:21,820
Is there anything else that you're doing outside of climbing right now that you like do to
435
00:39:21,820 --> 00:39:24,560
take your mind off of it?
436
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:33,080
Yeah for sure there of course when I'm having a rest day I'm doing a lot of other things.
437
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:47,000
I really like to be creative and I'm sewing a lot so and sewing clothes and yeah I'm
438
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:59,760
also often baking or cooking or yeah I think I'm having a lot of different hobbies which
439
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:10,360
I'm doing yeah and I also like when I'm for example having some time where I'm not climbing
440
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:19,600
for example in my season break I really really like to just go to the mountains and be outside
441
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:23,480
do other things than just climbing.
442
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:31,280
I'm also sometimes doing downhilling or other sports.
443
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:33,240
Wait what is downhilling?
444
00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:35,760
Like with a bike.
445
00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,800
Oh okay like mountain biking or is that different?
446
00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:47,600
Yeah yeah no it's kind of mountain biking but you're going up the hill with the lift
447
00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:50,080
and then just driving down.
448
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,800
Okay okay so just the thrill part.
449
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,480
Yeah just the fun part.
450
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:05,880
Or in winter I'm going skiing often also sometimes on the weekend or yeah.
451
00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,560
That sounds good.
452
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:14,360
Something I don't hear about too often is there like anything that you've made recently
453
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,160
that you would want to show?
454
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,640
Oh yeah I have two things here.
455
00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:20,640
Oh perfect.
456
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:30,600
I put this one here and this little shirt.
457
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:33,640
It looks really tiny.
458
00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:35,480
Yeah it's also for a baby.
459
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:41,240
Oh okay okay it's hard to tell because when we're recording the quality is not very good.
460
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,040
I think it'll be better once it's downloaded but okay.
461
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:47,280
I couldn't tell if that was like supposed to be for you and it was just like a really
462
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:48,280
tight shirt.
463
00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:49,280
No.
464
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:50,280
Okay awesome.
465
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:53,640
Is that like for like a family member or like?
466
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,200
Oh we will see we will see no.
467
00:41:56,200 --> 00:42:05,120
I'm just just doing stuff and then I'm giving it away to other people when I see them.
468
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,200
Yeah what's your like favorite thing to sew?
469
00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:08,200
I don't know.
470
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:09,200
I do everything.
471
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,760
How long have you been doing it for?
472
00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:19,080
I think my grandma showed me how to sew so I think I was five years old or something
473
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:20,080
like that.
474
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:23,160
Glad that you have something else to take your mind off of climbing.
475
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:26,920
Were you gonna say something else about the sewing earlier?
476
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:38,200
Sometimes when I'm also like not training for for comps I'm also sometimes just going
477
00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:46,440
on the rock so I'm still trying to find some time to go rock climbing especially in the
478
00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:47,440
off season.
479
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,520
Yeah are there like any projects that you're working on?
480
00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:54,800
Currently not specifically.
481
00:42:54,800 --> 00:43:04,080
Also just climbing on a rope outside so I'm not really I'm doing bouldering outside just
482
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:17,760
rope climbing but I still have an open project in Niciapek in Slovenia and one at Hotachberg
483
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:22,600
it's in in Kempten here in the Varia.
484
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:26,120
It's not very well known I don't know.
485
00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:30,160
Okay that's something you're working on.
486
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:35,920
Well I think those are all the questions I had so we can move on to some of the discord
487
00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:39,960
questions and Instagram questions that came through.
488
00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:46,620
The first one what do you find to be the hardest part of being an athlete?
489
00:43:46,620 --> 00:43:53,760
So I really enjoy being an athlete so I feel like it's not super hard for me to be an athlete
490
00:43:53,760 --> 00:44:03,840
but of course there are some things you also struggle as an athlete so it's of course there
491
00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:15,080
are times where I'm not motivated to go climbing but yeah it's still kind of my duty and I
492
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:28,560
yeah I always try to go climbing still and always giving your everything and trying to
493
00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:34,280
get the best version out of yourself is also not always easy and of course there are sometimes
494
00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:42,800
yeah weeks or months where nothing is going in the right direction and you kind of get
495
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:50,280
weaker and weaker and don't really know what is going wrong and those times are of course
496
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:59,440
hard where you don't really understand why nothing's working out but I'm very glad that
497
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:01,540
those times are not that often.
498
00:45:01,540 --> 00:45:07,600
How do you get out of those slumps I guess or have you ever figured out afterwards like
499
00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:10,880
why something was going wrong for a long time?
500
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:17,560
Often it's just for example when I'm over training so maybe doing too much and then
501
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:29,440
yeah maybe one rest day or two are helpful and then often the things are also again going
502
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:36,560
in the right direction and I'm very happy that I have never been injured but I think
503
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:43,520
that's also kind of a very bad part for an athlete and hard part to be injured and when
504
00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:51,640
you're not able to do the thing you're normally doing every day and thinking about in every
505
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:57,400
second but I'm happy that I'm injury free.
506
00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:01,720
Yeah definitely and I hope you do stay that way.
507
00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:10,040
Then another hard part sometimes with being an athlete is of course being under pressure
508
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:20,180
all the time and also the traveling for me sometimes so being away from home sometimes
509
00:46:20,180 --> 00:46:28,920
really for months and living out of the suitcase and being in hotels it's sometimes not that
510
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:35,880
easy and sometimes you just want to lie in your own bed.
511
00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:36,880
Yeah that makes sense.
512
00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:42,160
I guess what do you find to be like the most difficult part about traveling?
513
00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:46,480
For me it's flying and going in the airplane.
514
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:48,560
I don't really like to fly.
515
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:49,560
Oh really?
516
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:50,560
Yeah.
517
00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:53,000
You like it scared of planes or?
518
00:46:53,000 --> 00:47:00,400
I don't know I just don't really like it I also don't like to be at the airport it's
519
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:06,160
just not my favorite part.
520
00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:15,400
And just being for such a long time away from home and often sometimes being in a country
521
00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:24,760
where you don't really enjoy being and sometimes you're not in a beautiful city or in a nice
522
00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:36,440
hotel sometimes it's just not super nice it's not like vacation.
523
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:42,600
You still have to kind of prepare yourself for the camp and often you also don't really
524
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:46,120
see much of the place you're going.
525
00:47:46,120 --> 00:47:55,440
It's very often just going there maybe going to one of the gyms near the hotel and being
526
00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:58,760
at the venue.
527
00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:03,040
Yeah I guess like do you feel like you don't really get a chance to travel because the
528
00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:07,520
competition is on your mind or you just like really don't have the time?
529
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:13,360
Sometimes you really don't have the time and sometimes of course you're also just too concentrated
530
00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:23,880
on the camp but I also always try to kind of experience as much as possible from the
531
00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:31,200
city and from the people there because that also kind of helps you to not overthink the
532
00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:40,560
competition sometimes seeing maybe something of the city or just maybe strolling and I
533
00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:47,240
don't know going to this grocery store or something like that it's sometimes also very
534
00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:55,120
helpful to not just think about the camp on the next day or.
535
00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:56,120
Yeah that makes sense.
536
00:48:56,120 --> 00:49:00,800
I feel like I would kind of get stuck in the mindset of like okay I'm here I'm not allowed
537
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:05,560
to do anything else except for think about the competition.
538
00:49:05,560 --> 00:49:10,520
Okay so next question I don't know if this one is like very specific to you or if this
539
00:49:10,520 --> 00:49:16,120
person just wants like to know in general so let me know if you feel like you have like
540
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:23,580
a specific I don't know expertise in this but the question is just tips on improving
541
00:49:23,580 --> 00:49:24,580
arm strength.
542
00:49:24,580 --> 00:49:27,600
I also don't know if it's specific for me.
543
00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:31,880
Do you feel like that's like a big strength of yours or?
544
00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:43,960
Yeah I think it's one of my main strengths so I think I have stronger arms than legs
545
00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:50,440
and I also really like to train arms.
546
00:49:50,440 --> 00:50:01,880
What I'm doing in training is pull ups so weighted pull ups and I'm doing a lot of
547
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:08,900
campers thing so campers thing on the campus part but also on the spray wall and that's
548
00:50:08,900 --> 00:50:20,280
also one of my favorite parts of training sometimes because I really like to just yeah
549
00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:27,080
campers and boulders and swing around on the spray wall and I feel like that's also very
550
00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:31,360
very very helpful to gain muscle strength.
551
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:32,360
Perfect and easy.
552
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:39,640
Okay next question curious about this too where can I buy the Germany down jacket?
553
00:50:39,640 --> 00:50:41,800
It does look very comfortable.
554
00:50:41,800 --> 00:50:43,800
No I don't know.
555
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:45,480
Is it comfy?
556
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:46,600
It looks amazing.
557
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:52,080
I don't think I've seen any other team jackets that look as puffy and comfortable as the
558
00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:54,000
German one.
559
00:50:54,000 --> 00:51:01,280
Yeah I really like our German team clothes and also the down jacket but I'm not sure
560
00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:11,800
if it's available for sale and I think it's not it's not buyable but I'm also I don't
561
00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:12,800
know.
562
00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:14,160
Yeah it looks super comfy.
563
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:15,680
I wish I had it.
564
00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:20,600
Okay another quick question so we did go over your like goals for the next climbing season
565
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:23,600
do you have any like non-climbing related goals?
566
00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:38,040
Maybe get time to go on vacation without climbing because that's like one thing I didn't do
567
00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:47,400
now for a lot of years all of my vacations were always going somewhere and training there
568
00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:56,120
or going on the rock there or it was always kind of climbing related and I think next
569
00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:03,600
year I would like to do one vacation without climbing that would be very cool.
570
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:05,040
Where would you want to go?
571
00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:11,560
I haven't thought about it but maybe something like Sweden or Norway.
572
00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:15,840
I feel like those might be locations where you would still want to climb a bit.
573
00:52:15,840 --> 00:52:22,000
You might be like a beach or something that just doesn't have like the option to climb.
574
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:29,120
Yeah we will see but otherwise I don't know I don't have any specific goals just have
575
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:30,120
a good year.
576
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:37,320
Yeah I feel like your best bet is maybe going to like a resort where you just like stay
577
00:52:37,320 --> 00:52:42,720
on the resort and you don't have to think about anything and then probably won't think
578
00:52:42,720 --> 00:52:46,040
about climbing either because they don't have climbing at the resort.
579
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:51,200
Something nice in like I don't know Thailand or like Mexico or something like that.
580
00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:55,040
Would be also nice yeah for sure.
581
00:52:55,040 --> 00:53:01,760
Okay last question hopefully you might be like hopefully you're comfortable speaking
582
00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:02,760
on this.
583
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:08,680
What are your thoughts about the minimum BMI requirement?
584
00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:14,480
This person mentioned that there are former top German athletes who stopped competing
585
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:18,760
due to the stress of weight loss.
586
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:31,760
So I feel like it's very good that there are BMI regulations and I'm also very happy that
587
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:42,720
they are stricter now and that the IFSC is trying to get like yeah this problem we are
588
00:53:42,720 --> 00:53:49,960
having in the climbing community yeah can solve the problem.
589
00:53:49,960 --> 00:54:01,000
I still feel like especially in the youth circuit there are not enough regulations because
590
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:11,920
it's not like in the World Cups that there are a lot of testing and rules about the BMI
591
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:19,480
but I feel like it's already a good step in the right direction that there are those tests
592
00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:27,560
on the World Cups but maybe the rules should be stricter and yeah there should be a bit
593
00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:33,000
more yeah problem solving.
594
00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:44,480
I don't really know about how there have been other German people having problems with the
595
00:54:44,480 --> 00:54:58,040
BMI tests but I know that the DAV so our federation is doing a lot against eating disorders and
596
00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:09,880
also we are having stricter BMI rules here in Germany than the IFSC so we need to have
597
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:21,800
a higher BMI than the IFSC is having requiring.
598
00:55:21,800 --> 00:55:30,520
And also at our training camps and national comps there are also a lot of tests.
599
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:37,360
Yeah I didn't know that there was no requirements or like restrictions for youth athletes though.
600
00:55:37,360 --> 00:55:44,720
The only restrictions we had was at Youth World there were some tests but they were
601
00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:56,160
also very randomly and not everybody was tested and also when the people have been under the
602
00:55:56,160 --> 00:56:03,880
BMI rules they were not really kind of stopped from competing.
603
00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:12,960
It was just tests but there was not really somebody doing with and doing something with
604
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:15,800
this result.
605
00:56:15,800 --> 00:56:19,560
It was just a random test and then it was over.
606
00:56:19,560 --> 00:56:23,680
Is it like a warning or?
607
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:27,440
Yeah I don't know.
608
00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:33,920
I think it would be very very important to do something in the youth circuit because
609
00:56:33,920 --> 00:56:41,400
that's where the eating disorders are most often starting.
610
00:56:41,400 --> 00:56:51,600
It's not starting when you're 25 it's starting when you're younger and yeah that's why I
611
00:56:51,600 --> 00:57:00,680
think they should start with the BMI rules or also other rules in the youth.
612
00:57:00,680 --> 00:57:05,840
Did you ever feel like pressured when you were in the youth circuit to eat a certain
613
00:57:05,840 --> 00:57:06,840
way?
614
00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:17,320
So as I said in Germany there is kind of a very good support system and that's why I
615
00:57:17,320 --> 00:57:19,840
didn't really struggle with that.
616
00:57:19,840 --> 00:57:21,880
And so that started in youth as well?
617
00:57:21,880 --> 00:57:30,200
Yeah so at least for me I don't know how it's working for the other German athletes but
618
00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:32,760
I was supported very good.
619
00:57:32,760 --> 00:57:34,760
Yeah that's good to hear.
620
00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:40,280
Okay awesome well I think that is all the questions that I had then.
621
00:57:40,280 --> 00:57:46,280
Is there anything like last minute you wanted to talk about or like words of wisdom you
622
00:57:46,280 --> 00:57:47,280
want to share?
623
00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:48,280
I really know.
624
00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:50,320
Okay yeah no worries.
625
00:57:50,320 --> 00:57:52,640
I think it was a very good talk.
626
00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:55,160
Okay great awesome.
627
00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:57,440
Do you want to let people know where they can find you?
628
00:57:57,440 --> 00:58:04,960
Yeah so I'm on Instagram on the apple move 050.
629
00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:12,080
Great okay well thank you so much for joining me today and it was great to talk to you.
630
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:14,380
Thank you for inviting me.
631
00:58:14,380 --> 00:58:17,640
Thank you so much for making it to the end of the podcast.
632
00:58:17,640 --> 00:58:23,380
Don't forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed otherwise you are a super fake climber.
633
00:58:23,380 --> 00:58:28,040
If you're listening on a podcasting platform I'd appreciate if you rate it five stars and
634
00:58:28,040 --> 00:58:33,000
you can continue the discussion on the free competition climbing discord linked in the
635
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:34,000
description.
636
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:56,640
Thanks again for listening.
