The preseason is over.

Seen from the outside, it ran three-quarters well.

How satisfied are you with what has happened so far in this somewhat strange Corona year?

Achim Dreis

Sports editor.

  • Follow I follow

Yes, this year was very bumpy because I jumped from the short run last year and wanted to go back to the long run this year.

I didn't find my way back that way, and that kept me busy.

If the run-up doesn't go well, if things don't go that way, then it becomes a burden. You have the feeling that you are going from the hunter to the hunted.

You're afraid of losing something or of being unable to keep up with what you've already achieved.

It was important for me to learn to have the self-confidence and to know: I can do something, I know that - and also to know that I don't have to prove anything to myself and have nothing to lose.

Are you still so unsure that you think you have to prove something despite your previous successes?

This thought process is complete. I've come to the conclusion that I don't have to do this. That I am free and can just do my competition. That I believe in myself And even if it's not even seven meters on the list, I still know what I can do and have no doubts about it. Of course, it's not as comfortable a location as it was in 2019. I came out of a great indoor season. And was able to build on it in every competition and develop myself further. On the other hand, I also know that my body has not forgotten how to jump long. Therefore, even with the more bumpy preparation, it is still possible to head for long jumps like 2019, because the body does not forget that quickly.

Can you fine-tune your technique so shortly before the Olympics, or is it a question of recapitulating that you can regain the successful movement pattern that you did before?

Of course, that's both.

On the one hand, there are things that you learn anew, that you can tackle in a new way, that you place new value on, especially with my new trainer, Uli Knapp.

He has a slightly different view of the long jump.

You develop yourself as an athlete, you have a new, improved body feeling.

But at the same time the main step was to be able to return to what we did in series in 2019.

You actually wanted to train in America with Carl Lewis.

But that didn't work.

How satisfied are you with the situation of still being in Germany, albeit with a new coach?

I am very satisfied here in Germany.

I feel very comfortable with Uli Knapp, who is also national coach at the same time.

I also think that looking for a new training environment in 2020 was exactly the right step.

For me personally, it was just about time.

It's just nice to see that you can be on an equal footing with a new coach.

Of course, you first have to find your way around with this new team of trainers and athletes.

I appreciate that he supports me and accepts me for who I am.

At the same time, he is also an experienced trainer who also writes well-founded training plans and coaches them well.

And in addition to sport, we are also united by music.

What kind of music do you have in common?

The ones you hear or the ones you make yourself?