Oliver Zeidler from Munich was part of Germany's most successful swimming team until 2016. The team falls apart. Oliver opts for rowing. Just three years later, he becomes European and (!) world champion in the single scull. He is on the brink of the Olympics. At the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, he misses out on a place in the A final. A first setback. This is followed by another at the European Championships - on his home course in Munich, of all places. In 2022, he sought psychological support. A few days later, he becomes world champion again. And in 2023 for the third time!
Now you can already guess. Yes, I've been working with Oliver for two years. And I find it admirable how openly he deals with our collaboration. That's not a matter of course.
"The major defeats triggered a trauma in me," Oliver admits openly. You have to get rid of them and simply get certain issues off your chest. We do that regularly. Especially in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
But they are not always the really big issues. In any case, I think we should tackle issues as they arise, when they are still small - and before they become big. I also appreciate that about working with Oliver. Sometimes it's enough for us to talk on the phone for fifteen minutes.
Oliver himself decides which topics are on the agenda - or his physiotherapist does. She has been given the green light by him to talk to me about any issues and challenges that come to her attention. That's quite unusual - and it's what makes the team around Oliver so unique. He had a good hand when he put it together: Each team member has their role and clear tasks. Every team member has the task of making Oliver a little bit better every day.
As a sports psychologist, I couldn't replace a coach anyway and I can't get rid of the tension either. I support them in pushing themselves to their limits. My job is to ensure psychophysical health, i.e. to bring people into balance. To then be able to optimise their abilities and skills from this balance.
We talk about our collaboration for the first time - as a world exclusive, so to speak 😉 - in my podcast "Find the core". You'll get insights that top athletes rarely allow. Listen in now: https://ac-campus.de/podcast/.