1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I tried a lot of sports when I was a kid but the first I really stuck to was Rugby. After a couple years, I wanted to train more than what was offered at rugby, as it is a very minor sport in Switzerland. I thought rowers seemed fit and as we were living right next to the lake in Lausanne, I looked for rowing clubs on the internet and found one a few minutes away from home. There are actually two clubs right next to each other. One of them was the best club in Switzerland (and still is extremely competitive) and the other one is more focused around leisure rowing. The less competitive club was my first choice, as I had a friend who was rowing there already, but the training schedule was clashing with rugby practice, so I decided to enroll in the more competitive club and it was most definitely for the best. A simple timetable issue that probably have made the whole difference to my career!
2. Was there a practice, race or other event when you fell in love with the sport, or when you knew you might not be too bad at rowing? When you thought you could make the national team?
I was a junior in 2012 and back then, it had been ages since Switzerland had won an international medal at any major competition. We had to discover and do it all by ourselves, no-one could really show us the way. So when we won bronze at the World Junior Championships in Plovdiv with my teammate, I realized it was indeed possible to win medals on the big stage as a Swiss rower!
Another event which made me fall in love with the sport was the Armada Cup in Berne (Switzerland). It was a mass start race on a tight river over 9km. More than 300 rowers starting at the same time, all in singles. I raced there first when I was 19. I was awful in the rowing but I met some of the sport's legends (Olaf Tufte, Ondrej Synek, Mahe Drysdale, Damir Martin, Karl Schulze and others) and we all had dinner together and partied pretty hard afterwards. I could not believe I was sharing these moments with all the guys I had been watching on TV for all those years. It was the time I properly discovered the rowing community and its true spirit.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
I had a lot of good races, but I do not think I had the perfect one yet. Hopefully, it will come at Tokyo! One of my favourite sessions is a good old 30min rate 20 on the erg. Simple and effective.
Some of the worst racing I have had by far was during our national testing. We race 6k time trials twice or three times a year during the winter on a dead straight canal in the middle of nowhere. I used to be absolutely terrible at those (literally, you have no idea how bad)! I have done better recently, but they still suck! My least favourite practice is definitely long steady state water sessions. So boring! Ironically, we do an awful lot of those...
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I am pretty proud about my 2018 season. I had a horrible winter, then I got injured in the spring and missed all the beginning of the season. Three weeks after I sat back in a boat, I managed to row in the final of the men's single at World Cup Lucerne and five weeks after that we won a silver medal in the men's double at the World Championships. People might know about the results, but I do not think a lot realise the struggle behind them.
Overall, I would say people don't know how hard I had to work (because I really wasn't talented) and how much I struggled with injuries and always managed to eventually come back stronger. That is something I have done I am really proud of.
On a more fun note: I am undefeated at the Redbull Xrow! It used to be a gruelling race back home in Switzerland. Mass start in eights and we had to accumulate 18km on the water and run 7km with the boat on our shoulders, over three lakes, carrying the boat over the Swiss mountains between lakes. It was so hard and emotional. Redbull needs to bring this race back!!
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
More is more! But also, be patient. It requires time to be good at rowing and you often only see the progress of a few months, or even years, down the way. Something I have and still do struggle with!
Hometown: Lausanne - Switzerland
Birthplace: Lausanne - Switzerland
Current Residence: Lucerne - Switzerland
Club Affiliation: Lausanne Sports Section Aviron
Began Rowing: 2007
Date of Birth: 30.06.1994
Height: 193cm
Weight: 100kg
High School: Gymnase Auguste Piccard
Undergraduate Education: University of Lausanne (Sports Science and Political Science)
Graduate Education: University of Oxford - Saïd Business School MBA - starting in September 2021
Training Location: Sarnen - Switzerland
Current Coach: Edouard Blanc
National Teams: Swiss national team since 2010 (3x juniors, 2x U23, 9x seniors)
International Results: World Cup winner in 2019, M2x Silver medal at World Championships 2018, 1x bronze and 2x silver at European Championships 2017, 2019, 2020, 7th place at the Rio Olympics in 2016, 2x U23 World Champion in 2013 and 2014, Bronze at Junior World Championships 2012
National Results: 8x (on water) and 7x (indoors) senior Swiss champion
Personal: if I am not rowing on liquid water, you can find me skiing on solid water, doing all kind of sports, sleeping, cooking, enjoying a good beer or wine, or eating ridiculous amount of food!
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