This was the last time I competed in (German) national championships as a Junior (sub 18), and one of the last slalom races ever to take place on the river Oker (Romkerhalle). I had heard the usual horror stories of broken boats and teeth before we arrived for a training camp about a week before the competition, so I was a little nervous, but actually got on fine wiht the course.
I remember staying in a rented ‘holiday accommodation’ house that had very obviously belonged to somebody who had died not too long ago, with the interior left pretty much as it had been, sharing a room with Ricarda and laughing about stories until our coach stopped us late at night. I had a new boat by then, but had decided to use the green one for this race, just in case something happened. That gave me the courage to take an unconventional route during the final, and I ended up taking fourth place. After not doing as well as I had hoped at the other bigger races of the season, that was better than I could have imagined. I was over the moon, and I took it as confirmation that moving to Augsburg to train, even though that required me to study a different subject than I’d originally intended, was the right decision.
I had changed clubs in order to have a coach in Augsburg and was racing with KSV Bad-Kreuznach at the time.
This was the trickiest move, eddying in behind the rock. You had to pretty much head full speed directly towards the rock from above to make it. I only got it right in one fo the last training sessions before the race - and it was necessary to get into the final (or semi-final, I can’t quite remember).
My little sister gave me this bunch of flowers just before prize giving.
On the way back home, my family’s car broke down and had to be towed. I was super scared my boat would get broken on the transport after it had survived the race.