THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast Facts:

Pursuit: Alpine snowboarder, Olympic silver medallist

Definition of success: “If at the end of a work day I can say to myself, “You gave all you had, you gave your best” then that’s a successful day.”

My next guest started snowboarding at 11 years of age, and within just three years had teamed up with then – and current – German national coach Andy Scheid. In her career to date, as a parallel and giant parallel slalom snowboarder, she has stood on the podium on no less than thirty one occasions, six of which during the prestigious World Cup tournaments. In February 2014 she realised her dream of securing an Olympic medal, winning silver at the sport’s Olympic debut in Sochi. Here to share her journey with us, Anke Karstens.

I ask Anke to explain something of her sport, and how she got started.

“I’m an alpine snowboarder,” Anke explains. “Which means that I compete in parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom races in World Cups, World Championships and Olympic Winter Games. Our format requires us to be fast and at the same time to have the physical fitness to make ten consistent runs in order to win a race. My brother started to snowboard when I was eleven years old. I had to try it too, got into some races and never looked back. I love the head to head racing and the honesty of the sport.”

And the day-to-day input necessitated to maintain that edge?

“Usually my day starts between six thirty and seven am, in winter sometimes earlier. Breakfast is followed either by snow training or a gym workout in the summer and racing in the winter. In summertime I train at least twice a day, and in the breaks in between I usually study for college.”

By anyone’s standards that sounds like quite some commitment.

“I spend about forty to fifty hours a week just training,” Anke concurs. “Plus taking care of equipment – all in all there are really only a few hours that are not dedicated to my sport and spent thinking about the next step.”

The Olympic silver medallist doesn’t begrudge a moment though:

“I feel like I don’t sacrifice anything – this is a dream that I’m lucky to  be living, and I love the way my life is at the moment.”

And the fruits of her labours – from which does she derive the most gratification?

“I’m most satisfied when I feel that I’m in control of a lot of speed and my opponent in a race situation, when I know I’m ahead and there’s nothing the other girl can do about it.”

I’ve wondered, as I’ve watched athletes receive their prize at often emotional ceremonies, how it feels to win an Olympic medal. Can you ever get to grips with what you’ve actually achieved?

“To win the silver medal in the Sochi Olympics was the most overwhelming feeling of my life,” Anke says. “It’s been my dream to stand on that podium since I did my first ski race at the age of five and to achieve it feels a little surreal even today.”

When I ask Anke about her interpretation of ‘success’, it’s refreshing to hear her talk of something less tangible than results alone.

“I think success is what you make it. For me a successful race is when I’ve given my best; sometimes that means winning, sometimes not, but if at the end of a work day I can say to myself, “You gave all you had, you gave your best” then that’s a successful day. I feel like our society is sometimes too focussed on numbers instead of always looking at yourself and making sure to give it all you’ve got, that for me is most important. On paper I was not a favourite for the Olympics, and most people looked at others to win, but the fact that I wanted to purely give my best and didn’t care about what others thought made me strong enough that day to win a medal.”

Encouraging, don’t you think? And Anke’s advice for those of us in pursuit of our ambitions?

“Never let go of your dream! There may be others that are more talented, there may be days when you feel out of luck, but if you truly believe in your dream and in yourself everything is possible! Stick with it and don’t let setbacks stop you!”

My thanks to Anke for taking the time out of her demanding training schedule, and her studies, to talk to me. You can keep up with the latest results and race schedules at Anke’s website: www.ankekarstens.de

If you’ve never watched snowboard slalom before, there’s coverage here of the races leading up to Anke’s final showdown at Sochi, and the big race itself. If you like your sport fast and thrilling, trust me this is for you! https://youtu.be/1TTDRUmj0pg

Finally, if you’re a winter sports fan, you should follow Anke @KarstensAnke