Monika Karsch is ready for the "Gold" mission

Monika Karsch is at the start at the Olympic Games for the second time.

In Tokyo, the sports shooter from Rott is aiming for a medal again.

She had to overcome numerous obstacles beforehand.

Rott - The tour through the premises, which will be the home of Monika Karsch in the coming days, was like an adventure trip through the IKEA country. The marksman from Rott took a video guide through her apartment in the Olympic Village in Tokyo, which has the charm of a broom closet. “Note the bed construction. I think it's really cardboard, ”she commented on her bed, which took some getting used to.

The wardrobe made an even poorer appearance with its two plywood walls and two shelves.

And the bathroom didn't really invite you to linger either.

“It's really very easy” - Karsch is getting ready for a spartan life.

Only the view from the balcony of the skyline of Japan's capital was breathtaking and sublime.

And suddenly the apartment, the furniture and the bare walls were forgotten.

“It's going to be a cool time here,” the 38-year-old was convinced.

Monika Karsch has high expectations of herself at the Olympics

Monika Karsch did not come to Nippon to enjoy all the comfort that the island kingdom should offer top athletes from all over the world. Her only mission is to have a medal dangling around her neck after the sport pistol competitions on Thursday and Friday. "I have high expectations of myself, of course I want to win gold," is how she frankly formulates her personal claims. But she would also be perfectly happy with another medal.

For the native Schongauer, who lives in Regensburg with her husband Thomas and their two children, these are the second games.

When she flew to Rio five years ago, she was one of the lucky-kissed athletes.

She actually missed the qualification.

But because the rifle shooters waived a quota space that had become vacant, they got a ticket for Brazil.

The rest is history.

Completely detached like a samba dancer, she made it into the final with the sports pistol and did not let herself be disturbed when her weapon suddenly broke.

In the end, she won silver with her spare pistol.

“It's nice when you wake up with something lying there,” she said at the time, looking at her medal.

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The greatest moment of her athletic life: Monika Karsch celebrated winning the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

© dpa

Although it doesn't look any different in her apartment in Tokyo than in a sterile communal accommodation in a Bundeswehr barracks, someone has made sure that there is at least one bedside cabinet by the athlete's bed. The sports soldier would have a place where she could deposit her precious metal - if everything went perfectly. In those days she classified her silver from Rio as a “lifetime achievement”. Coincidentally, this year she also celebrated her 25th anniversary as a competitive athlete. What could be more obvious than reliving the great moment that she longed for in her dreams the last time? "If I can do it, that's great, if not, I can say that I've done everything for it," she makes it clear that she cannot force success. She has learned that in the past few months.

It is not an easy time that is behind her.

When the 2020 games were postponed by twelve months a year ago, the trained nurse considered this decision “to be expected because there was no alternative”.

The "strange feeling" that crept her back then did not vanish at first, because not only the sporting world as a whole, but also her life as an athlete was falling apart.

Karsch had to reorganize her everyday life.

The distribution of tasks suddenly changed due to the pandemic.

Some of the children had to be taught at home, their grandparents were not allowed to visit.

Monika Karsch won gold and silver at the EM

The shooter trained in her own living room, in the garden and at some point again regularly in the shooting range. "I'm glad that we managed it as a family," she posted her first top performance long before the start of the Olympic Games. The only thing that really took getting used to was the lack of competitions that had been canceled due to the pandemic. “The nice situations were missing last year,” she says looking back. "Traveling, standing on the podium, listening to the national anthem."

The European Championship in Osijek was one of these rare moments. Karsch won silver in the individual and gold with the team with the sport pistol. The success is planned for a long time. After the games in Rio, she continued to work meticulously and with full concentration on her own total work of art. In addition to national trainer Barbara Georgi, she is looked after by her husband Thomas, who acts as the regional trainer "Pistole" for the Bavarian Rifle Association. She also relies on the support of physiologists, fitness and cross trainers. She even has her own nutrition plan. “You feel strong when you are strong” is the credo of the 1.58 meter tall athlete who describes herself as “strong-willed”. This strength also includes the firm self-confidence that she will only reach her full potential in Tokyo.“We designed it in such a way that I still have a little reserve in me,” she says, saying that she still has to work a little on her technology.

With this power of persuasion and self-confidence, she moved mountains.

For a whole year she only hoped that “Tokyo 202ONE” would become a reality.

"It is our greatest wish that the games take place," she said in the spring when she had successfully mastered the qualification.

The gold-plated Olympic rings she wears on her necklace looked like a talisman.

Now the games are being rescheduled, but at the price that nobody in Japan wants them anymore.

In the past few months, enthusiasm for the largest mass event in the sport has steadily declined in fear that armies of athletes and supervisors could bring Corona into the country.

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Another successful chapter was written: Monika Karsch won silver and gold with the sport pistol at the European Championships in Osijek last June.

© imago

Now the games are practically in camera. Only supervisors and officials will follow the competitions live, and the tiers in the “Asaka Shooting Range”, in which the shooters fight for medals, will also remain empty. "There will certainly be other games," says Karsch, who experienced the contrast program in Rio. But she doesn't mind. "Despite the hygiene concept and Corona - I'm really happy."

It is this positive mood that apparently allows Monika Karsch to overcome any adversity or resistance. Whether Corona or IKEA furniture, with her optimistic nature she can put it all away: “Even if we will be limited, this knowledge that you have done so much for it and that it is a special moment with a special group, with athletes who all have the same goal, this mood resonates - no matter what kind of concept there is outside. "

Before she got on the plane a week ago on Saturday, she gave a farewell sushi reception in Regensburg. The mood was relaxed. There was no sign of any pressure or expectations. Karsch celebrated her farewell with her friends and the people who are closest to her. It almost seemed as if she was going to really recharge herself with positive energy in order to be full of happiness hormones for the Olympics. "I think it's a huge challenge for all participants," her husband Thomas clarified. The video from the Olympic Village that his wife posted online will reassure him that he has prepared her mentally well. It's all cool in Tokyo. Monika Karsch has already furnished her room comfortably. Finally she came to Tokyoto feel comfortable with your mission.