After 39 years, an Erdinger broke the German record of an Erdinger.
Erding– In February 1981, Ronald Reagan had his first days in office as the new US President, Abba topped the charts with “Super Trouper”. And in Bavaria, an 18-year-old Althamer named Rita Daimer set a Bavarian U 20 indoor record over 400 meters with 53.76 seconds. It lasts exactly 39 years and two weeks.
Then - in February 2020 - Mona Mayer crossed the finish line in 53.35 seconds in the run-up to the German championship. A day later, the 18-year-old Hörlkofener will also get her first medal with women - silver with the relay of LG Telis Regensburg. At the latest now it is clear: Erding has an outstanding 400 meter runner again. And that makes Rita Daimer, who has long been called Gabler, particularly happy.
The fastest Erdinger women ever met in the editorial office of the Erdinger / Dorfener Anzeiger. And after just a few moments - almost in the starting block - it is clear: the two are on the same wavelength. It starts when we pull out a photo with the young Rita Daimer lifting a medicine ball over her head.
Ms. Mayer, working with medicine balls - do you know that too?
Mona Mayer: Of course. This is part of strength training.
Rita Gabler: We even pulled car tires.
Mayer: Well, I don't know that now.
Gabler: The tires were attached to rubber bands, so we ran off.
Mayer: We are now doing this with train sledges. But our trainer built them himself.
In both cases it doesn't seem to have been the worst training method. Record holder for 39 years, wow.
Gabler: You could have waited a year, Mona. 40 years, that would have been a well-rounded affair. Of course that's fun. I'm really happy that it's you who got my record.
Does the word "fun" actually match the keyword "400 meters"? Why do you choose the most difficult of all routes?
Gabler: For me it was more of a coincidence. I was not bad over 100 meters and had a best time of 11.72.
Mayer: Oops, I prefer to be calm with my 12.10.
Gabler: My 200-meter time was also quite passable. Added to this was my stamina for speed. I just tried a competition in Waldkraiburg and set a club record. I also have to admit that I love what Mona described so appropriately: this "dying" in the last 100 meters. But you have to like that to go beyond your limits. I liked it.
Mayer: I actually prefer to run the 200 meters, but the best results are over 400. Oh dear, when I think back to my beginnings at eleven at TSV Erding: the throwing disciplines were really not for me. Then I went to the 800 meters. I really enjoyed it. And in the U 16 I got my first German championship over 300 meters. I was 14 years old. But I always wanted to play football.
Gabler: Oh yes, I loved that too. I was the only girl accepted by the boys on the team.
Did you play in the club?
Gabler: No, but as children we were every evening - really everyone - on a meadow.
Mayer: My older brother would have been on the same team. That would not have worked out (laughs). But doing sports has always been my thing. I had no electronic devices, and we were not allowed to watch TV in the afternoon in our home. But I always preferred to be outside.
What is it like in athletics: do you prefer to be outside or inside?
Gabler: I am an outdoor fanatic.
Mayer: I like to take corners. And that's a lot of fun in the hall - especially in Leipzig, where you have six lanes and the curves really go up. You basically run up a mountain and then down again. Downhill you can attack properly.
They love to turn on the turbo in the curve.
Mayer: Yes, that's the way it is.
How was it with you, Ms. Gabler?
Gabler: If you have a good run, it's like a kind of flow. Something is carrying you. Sometimes these were downright spiritual moments. I only had this feeling of happiness, to grow completely beyond myself, later when my children were born. These moments in sport will eventually become fewer as soon as certain services are required or expected.
What important tip would you give Mona Mayer?
Gabler: Don't put everything on one card. Nothing is as transient as athletic fame. In the end, everything you have experienced in life gives an overall picture. Sport is just a piece of the puzzle in this picture, albeit a very succinct one. And always pay attention to the signals from your body. What use are all the medals if you don't know how to get out of bed in the morning at 40.
But let's stay with sports for now, what was your absolutely best sporting moment?
Gabler: Winning the German Youth Championship in the Olympic Stadium. It was extremely drastic for my development. Until then I was a pretty shy girl. I only got into athletics at the age of 14 through my sports teacher Lis Schmidt. The first thing she discovered was my talent when I jumped 4.50 meters. Together with Renate Englberger and Sigrun Irl I came to Freising in the training group of Hans Katzenbogner, which was very successful at the time.
And at 17 you were German champion.
Gabler: Yes, crazy isn't it? Sport totally changed me during this time. With my achievements and my admission to the national team, I have increasingly developed into a self-confident woman who has consistently pursued her goals.
Up to the World Cup participation.
Gabler: The World Cup in Helsinki was a key experience. 75,000 spectators and hundreds of cameras - and I was also the starting runner of our 4x400 meter relay. In front of me was Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czech runner, who was the first woman to run 400 meters under 48 seconds, the editor). I could practically hide behind her right thigh.
The 1980s, the days of unrestrained doping ...
Gabler: Unfortunately. Some of the world records in question still exist today. That's why we were really proud of our sixth place in the final as a relay. Doping was simply not an issue for me.
In the meantime, the controls have become significantly stricter. Are you already feeling that, Ms. Mayer?
Mayer: I now come into the program in which you have to indicate your stay every hour so that you can be tested at any time. That's absolutely okay, because doping has no place in sports. It would just be nice if controls were so good in all countries.
Gabler: Unfortunately, we also had to complain of a dramatic death in our own ranks through doping. The Birgit Dressel case went around the world (heptathlete who died of a multi-organ failure caused by doping, the editor). This would not have happened through stricter controls.
How was your time in the national team?
Gabler: Basically, I found club life at home, especially at the LAG Mittlere Isar, the most beautiful. That's where I met my husband. Later I was at USC Munich and MTV Ingolstadt. The special encounters were enriching for the big missions. I once shared a room with Ulrike Meyfarth. I was frozen in awe of the high jump Olympic champion, but it was totally uncomplicated. I saw her originally in silk stockings before she promoted it (laughs).
Unfortunately, it didn't work out with Olympia.
Gabler: I was in the Los Angeles squad in 1984. And then I injured my Achilles tendon during a last test in Cologne and had to undergo surgery.
You've already had an injury shock, Ms. Mayer: the muscle fiber tear at the European Championships in Sweden.
Mayer: That was in the semifinals. I didn't watch any races or results all summer after that. Not even the DM in Berlin, with which I would have loved to run.
Gabler: But that's also an impressive stadium. It still tingles in my legs when I see pictures.
After the Olympic exit - wasn't there the urge to try it in 1988?
Gabler: It was difficult after the injury. I was an enthusiastic athlete, but I had no professional training. I had the wish to become a nurse when I was a child. The passion for this profession was stronger than the urge to be successful in athletics. I ended my athlete career at the age of 24 and enrolled in the BRK sister school in Munich. I have never regretted it, even if I know that there would certainly have been a lot to get in terms of sport.
Mayer: Because you were in your prime athletics age.
Gabler: I still love sport today. Running is causing me increasing problems. But then something else works, for example cycling and hiking.
How often have you trained before?
Gabler: Twice a day at peak times. My national coach Wolfgang Thiele sent me training plans that I worked through in Erding. That's why I still love the stadium at Volksfestplatz today, the old grandstand, the special atmosphere. Hopefully it will remain open to the public. I still like to be there a lot.
How did you manage that financially?
Gabler: I was supported by Deutsche Sporthilfe and had a mini contract with Adidas and Audi.
What is the financial support like today?
Mayer: There is room for improvement. But I think it's very nice that Sparkasse Erding-Dorfen supports me.
And what is your current training workload like?
Mayer: Six times a week.
And by the way, you also do your Abitur.
Mayer: Yes, the next few weeks and months will be tough, because there are still a lot of clauses to come - and then the exams.
And then?
Mayer: ... I will definitely study. You can stretch that today so that I can continue to do my sport.
... to break further records like Rita Gabler's 52.64 sec? You recently said yourself that you are one second faster outdoors than in the hall.
Mayer: Wait, wait. I'm down from 53.99 to 53.35. There are not always such leaps in performance. Everything has to be right: the wind, the opponents, your own body ...
We would wish you for the U 20 World Cup.
Mayer: The stadium in Nairobi should be great. Athletes who were there at the U 18 World Cup rave about the mood. The association hardly demands admission, so a lot of people come and cheer for the runners.
Are there favorite stadiums?
Gabler: The Dante Stadium in Munich has this wonderful old charm. I had already mentioned Berlin.
Mayer: I definitely want to run in Berlin. The Sindelfinger Halle is also great. The grandstands are so close to the train.
Which track do you prefer to run on?
Gabler: Already on the 3, 4 and 5 - or Mona?
Mayer: Yes, it's difficult outside.
You have to look around if you want to see your opponent, right?
Gabler: No, never, that's not possible.
Mayer: You're going there.
Gabler: You get out of rhythm. Such a 400-meter run already has its own laws. It actually stands as a symbol of life in general. With the starting shot you start running, you have to find your step and be careful not to trip. On the back straight everything seems to run smoothly and easily. And then you go into the second curve and you pay bitterly for the mistakes you made in the beginning. Then comes the home straight. You just want to get there - but not somehow, but with dignity and good performance. And if you're lucky, someone will catch you behind the finish line.
And now you are professionally responsible for this home stretch.
Gabler: Exactly, I accompany people on the final stretch of their lives with the Erdinger palliative care team. I have led the team for almost ten years now. Now I am entrusted with the new hospice for Freising and Erding, which is being built on the Fuchsberg. It's crazy how my fate rounds off here. I am very touched that I can now move something so special for the two counties that played such a central role in my life. It's almost like a big last sporting challenge. However, sport has always been about me and my personal best. At the hospice, I am fully committed to dying people. This has a completely different dimension.
A big task.
Gabler: Yes, but a wonderful one. And you, Mona, please crack my 52.64.
Mayer: I will try.
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