Shooter has to change team – coach can stay
Trainer Zoff regarding Olympic champion Nina Christen
After the Olympic triumph it was over: Shooter Nina Christen fell into a deep hole. Now she’s back. With a new coach and some background noise.
bustle. obligations. Stress. And on top of that, Nina Christen (28) fell out with her long-time trainer Enrico Friedemann. While the shooter speaks of “serious differences” that might no longer be repaired, Friedemann downplays the issue: “It is quite normal for an athlete to look for new impulses following such success. There can be no question of differences.” Last year’s crazy Olympic summer changed the life of the woman from Nidwalden in a drastic way.
It all started so promisingly. The bronze award in the 10 m air rifle competition was followed by the gold coup in the three-position match. A career high point, which, however, was to become a low point in life within a few weeks. At some point, all the hype became too much for Christians, and they withdrew from the public eye.
Ex-shooter makes Christians strong once more
She calmly recharged her batteries, thought through her next steps and clarified the trainer question. Further collaboration with Friedemann was out of the question. But the association held on to him. Why? Daniel Burger, head of the top-class sport department, takes a stand: “We didn’t want to let such a great coach go.” With the help of the association, the figurehead of the Swiss shooting sport had to look for other options.
As luck would have it, at that moment the Danish ex-shooter Torben Grimmel (46) took over the reins in the second training group. A stroke of luck for the time militarist. The two hit it off right away. “He won an Olympic medal himself, so he knew what I was going through.” Thanks in part to Grimmel, the Formula 1 lover found her way back to the sunny side of life.
A special situation for the teammates
However, the unusual training situation caused confusion at the beginning, as professional shooter Chiara Leone (24) reveals: “It was very special because we thought she would come back to the first training group.” But this was not so.
The story has now normalized. The fact that Christen and Friedemann cross paths at the competitions is not a problem for the Olympic heroine.
Whether the change of coach was also worthwhile from a sporting point of view will be shown for the first time at the World Cup in Cairo in mid-October. Can she then get back into the medal fight? She herself says: “Sure, a podium is in the back of my mind, but the minimum goal is to reach the final.”
