Celine Schärer, a new Swiss long-distance specialist, is growing up in the shadow of Daniela Ryf. In October, the strong swimmer, who decisively won the Ironman in Zurich in July, took part in the World Championships in Hawaii for the first time and achieved 23rd place.

Congratulations on your first Ironman in Hawaii! How did you find the race? When it comes to your preparation and the race, what can you optimise to achieve your "Top 3 in Hawaii” goal the next time round?

It was very impressive and above all motivating for next year. However, in order to achieve a top 3 placement, I will most likely still need 2-3 years. In the meantime, I know that by constantly training and spending more time with my coach, Brett Sutton, I definitely have the potential to be among the top 10 next year.

I have the greatest potential for improvement on my bike. We have already made a few changes and I am confident that I can take another big step forward next year. 

At the beginning of June, you started training again with Brett Sutton, who also coached Nicola Spirig and Daniela Ryf. In your eyes, what is it that particularly distinguishes him? 

Brett trains each athlete individually, i.e., what works for one person does not work exactly the same for the other. Each athlete has strengths and weaknesses that they need to individually work on.

He also ensures that we give ourselves the necessary time to recover. Especially after a race, you are often over motivated and want to immediately continue with your full training programme, which can lead to illness or injury. Many amateur athletes have much less recovery time than we do because they still have to work full time and thus often forget that the recovery time is just as important for the body as the training time.

Can you give us an overview of what your everyday training looks like? What are your most important tips for hobby athletes?

I often swim early in the morning each day, which rarely changes. This is then followed by a long bike ride or two short bike training units, or else the focus is on running where we complete a long hard run or also do two short intensive units.

We often focus on one or two disciplines a day; however, this does not mean that we don’t train the others or omit them. But it is important to set priorities so that the training does not lose its quality. 

Many hobby athletes want to complete a triathlon once in their lives. What do they need to watch out for when training on the bike, swimming, or running, and where would it make the most sense to focus their training if they want to do a triathlon for the first time?

It depends on which sport the athlete does. Above all, it is important that they train the bike-to-run transition. After all these years, I still find it the toughest part of a triathlon.

When swimming, you should focus on trying to get a good position in the water, i.e., beginners should ideally swim with a pull buoy between the legs, so they can get a feel as to how they should lie in the water.

When cycling, it is important to get used to the bike and, above all, your position on the bike as you can often end up getting muscle cramps or back problems.

When running, you need to be careful that you don’t overdo it. You can hurt yourself very quickly, especially if you have never run before.

So, first concentrate on swimming and cycling and then you should perhaps start with an Olympic distance and not an Ironman distance for your first triathlon. ;)

Do you have a secret tip you would be willing to share with us?

To be successful in a triathlon, you need to be consistent first and foremost. What’s more, be patient and take your time because you won’t be good in all three disciplines right from the start.

Foto: ZVG