Bahn-News: For Robert Förstemann, the winter was anything but as desired. The backlash came with the World Cup in Hong Kong, where the Olympic bronze medalist from 2012 disappointed again and lost the last chance for a place in the squad for Rio. Now the Thuringian pulls the ripcord and ends the season after the Berlin six-day race. He needs a break, he says.
Eleven years of professional sport, without a break, 24 hours a day, seven days a week - that drains everyone, mentally and physically. Robert Förstemann was at the top of the world track sport for almost a decade, but now the time seems to have come for a break. "I can't rely on my body right now," the man with the thick thighs is sobered. The altitude training camp in Colorado last October was his undoing. Förstemann arrived with a cold, driven by ambition and regardless of his body, he tried to somehow get the situation under control with medication. The consequence: He delayed the infection, lost almost 10kg of muscle mass and was completely out of shape. "I never recovered from that," Förstemann admits to the Berlin Kurier.
After missing the Olympic qualification, he drew a line - among other things, he also ended the collaboration with his coach Emu Raasch. However, Förstemann emphasizes that he should not be the scapegoat for the events: "I owe him a lot." In the coming months, the 29-year-old wants to recover mentally and physically and prepare for the future. There should finally be more time for the family – Förstemann has a three-year-old son. After that it should start again. "I'm starting from scratch," the Berliner by choice is realistic – but he already has his next goal firmly in mind: "I haven't achieved everything I can achieve by a long shot" he says, certainly with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in mind.
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