“I want to ski again!”
Innsbruck/Bruckmühl – The young German ski racer Sophia Arzberger is fighting back after a serious injury. It was anything but easy. The cheerful Bavarian who is studying in Innsbruck has not lost her courage. You’ll be bare on your skis and with a crowdfunding campaign draw attention to themselves. We asked the technology specialist for an interview.
Sophia, you are a young and promising DSV future stock in alpine ski racing. You fell in September 2020. You tore all three outer ligaments and two tendons in your ankle and also injured your knee. What can we both about your summer training sessions on the way back and about your, hopefully more than satisfaction Find out about the course of your recovery, especially since you had to miss two seasons?
My way back has been anything but easy for the last two years. The ankle injury was much more serious than initially thought, and the tendon injury in particular caused enormous difficulties. The healing didn’t go according to plan, but now, ten weeks after my last surgery, I came back stronger and more motivated than ever.
Of course I still need my body and especially my ankle a lot of time to recover from all the exertion, but I’m confident that I’ll finally be back on skis this season. Of course, my summer this year looked very different than normal, because the surgical intervention in August meant that there were a lot of physio and rehabilitation units on the program, but I made good use of the time and, above all, developed extremely mentally.
Through “Basefive” I not only found great trainers and physios in Innsbruck, but also a really cool family community that is always there for me and supports me in everything. With that in mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Chrie, Myri, Olli, David, Tami, Dani and everyone else who always has my back. You guys are the best and without you I wouldn’t be where I am now!
You are studying sports science in Innsbruck. That way, it’s probably fair to say that you’ve dedicated your life to sports. Why is it important to practice sport and why must it never ever disappear as a socio-political part of our lives?
Quite apart from that, sport and especially outdoor sport is the absolute best feeling in the world. It is extremely important for our health in order to stay fit and thus prevent illnesses, but also to create a balance to the stressful working life.
Sport is healthy, both for our joints and for our immune system and even more so for our psyche. Going up the mountain after a stressful day and switching off completely is the best thing you can do. Of course, this applies to any sport, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s yoga, biking, skiing or something else.
An extremely important point for me personally is that sport connects us. You have the opportunity to get to know a lot of new and like-minded people, and you take a lot with you for life.
Even if you are a dynamic, talented ski racer who hopefully will professionalize and pursue a long sporting career I want to know what you do off the slopes and in addition to the courses at the university? There is still time for time-consuming ones Hobby?
Even if I don’t have too much time, I always try to find a good balance between everyday skiing, university and leisure time. I love being out in nature; That’s why I spend almost every free minute on the mountain, whether hiking, climbing or biking. Beach volleyball, yoga and surfing are also some of my favorite pastimes.
Aside from sport, I naturally like to spend time with my friends and family (but to be honest, most of that is about sport, too, laughs). i love to bake There’s something meditative about it for me and it relaxes me, especially when I’m stressed. Of course, I often get a cake or two for my friends, trainers and physios (Myri and Kati, you know!).
When are you personally certain that you want to continue and professionalize your sporting career?
Phew, that’s a tough question. For me, skiing has always embodied a childhood dream and my greatest passion. All friend books say that I want to be a ski pro one day. So I really professionalized it relatively late. In my final year at school, when I was 15, I realized that I wanted to ski professionally and that I had the talent and the necessary skills to do so. A late bloomer, so to speak, but as the saying goes: Better late than never.
Where does Sophia Arzberger see herself in ten years, assuming that she has maps, a pendulum, a sphere or other things that are necessary for looking into the future and in the had equally indispensable utensils with you?
At the top of the Ski World Cup, of course! Jokes aside, I wrote a lot about my goals with my mental trainer André, and that is of course a big part of the success. I’m someone who lives in the here and now and tries to enjoy every moment because in my experience things always turn out differently than planned.
I give my best every day and work towards my goal of winning the Alpine Ski World Cup with diligence, ambition and determination and of course a lot of fun. Skiing will always come first, but I’m currently building up a second mainstay with my sports studies, and I could probably imagine working with athletes later as a sports physiotherapist.
But one step at a time. Now it’s time to get well, to get back on the skis, and then we’ll see.
Report and interview for Skiweltcup.TV: Andreas Raffeiner