Archer Manuela Widmair: Nothing unlearned despite a long break

Archer Manuela Widmair is back in training after a long break.

It is currently unclear which competitions can take place this year.

Haag / Hörgertshausen

- Hard months lie behind Manuela Widmair.

In September 2020, the archer from Haag was still German runner-up in the "Field and Hunting" discipline.

Shortly afterwards, due to the lockdown, training was stopped.

To make matters worse, her own health thwarted her calculations for weeks from Christmas - and so the 2018 European indoor champion was only able to use her sports equipment again at the beginning of March.

"The bow and the arrows did what they were supposed to do and hit the middle," says the 45-year-old with satisfaction.

Five months ago she hadn't shot and she was glad that she could still do it.

Numerous tournaments have been canceled

Manuela Widmair has not missed anything in 2021, because the schedule in field archery has been and is currently being mixed up by the Corona crisis. After the indoor World Championships in England and the German indoor championship had already been canceled, all tournaments over Easter and the beginning of May were also canceled. As a precaution, the first cancellations for competitions in June and August came in mid-March, says the multiple German champion. She fully understands that, because it would be a high financial expense for the organizing clubs - and now the halls or places could be canceled free of charge at an early stage.

"I had planned that I would go to around 30 events this year," says Widmair. “I'm hardly counting on anyone at the moment. I'm currently still keeping the weekends free and had coordinated my vacation with my employer so that I could go to France for the Bowhunter World Cup in July. But that has also been canceled in the meantime, so it will be a vacation in the garden. "

The decision to postpone the World Cup in Confolens, France for another year to 2022 was made shortly before Easter.

The archer from Hubertus Hörgertshausen wasn't sure what she would have thought of it if the World Cup had taken place: “When I watch the event in France, it's a World Cup, where people come from everywhere.

At the moment, some may not be allowed to enter the country because there is still a lockdown in their home country.

Others may, but have extremely high incidence values.

I don't know how useful such an event is.

It was right to cancel. "

Hope for autumn

Other big events this calendar year would be the German championships in the categories “Field and Hunting” and “Bowhunter”.

Due to the current corona developments, both events are not yet fixed, but would not take place until autumn.

Either way: Widmair thinks she could get back in quickly after the long break.

But she dares to doubt whether it will be enough to achieve absolute top form - “especially since I am a little lackluster due to the current situation in terms of ambitious training and the disease is still hanging in my bones.

I think this year will be a bit lean. "

Different attitude towards success

That wouldn't be bad for the 45-year-old from Haag, however. Because in the past few years their attitude towards success has changed a bit. It is nice to be at the front, to stand on the podium and to be cheered, but that is not all. The European indoor champion from 2018 differentiates exactly between the placement in competition with others and the own claim that you want to meet. "A first place with a score that you could actually cry about is nice and another medal, but actually worth nothing," explains Widmair. “For me it is now more important that I live up to my own expectations. They are possibly also linked to what has happened in the last few weeks or months in training or privately.With this knowledge I then go into a tournament with a certain expectation of myself. If I can meet them, it's good. If you then get a good placement, you are of course also happy about it. ”This year it is very difficult to estimate, says Widmair, what could actually take place and whether she will then be with the game.

International title fights in focus

The Hague archer is much more confident about the international championships in 2022. The European indoor championships in Finland in March and the world championship in the field of “field and hunt” in Hungary in the summer are on the program.

In addition, the EM in France, which has now been postponed twice, should be able to take place.

Josef Fuchs

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