Karina Peisker is a multiple world champion in wheel gymnastics.
In an interview, the Freisinger explains how top-class sport and medical studies can be combined.
Freising – Karina Peisker (22) has been one of the best wheel gymnasts in the world for many years.
After three world championship titles in the junior area, she also shone at the adult world championships in the summer.
She won gold in the all-around and in the straight freestyle with music.
There was also a bronze medal in the vault discipline.
Our newspaper spoke to the world champion about her sporting successes.
Ms. Peisker, first of all, congratulations on the gold medals.
How did you qualify for these title fights after the pandemic?
In 2021 I was able to start again for the first time and qualified for the national squad via the North German and German championships, which consists of the top ten women every year.
At the beginning of 2022, two more World Cup qualifying competitions took place, in which the ten was screened out to five.
I qualified for the World Cup squad and was then allowed to start for Germany at the World Cup in Denmark in the middle of the year.
What were your expectations when you went to Denmark for the World Championships?
Actually, my expectations weren't particularly high, since I was only nominated fourth out of the five German women in the national team and the international competition is very strong.
My focus was on putting in a nice competition and having a great week at the World Championships with a small hope that I might be able to bring home a medal.
So how did the title fights go?
The week started on Wednesday with a qualifying round.
Fortunately, I was able to show solid performances here and thus qualify for the finals in the all-around, the vault and the music freestyle.
Only in the spiral I didn't make it into the final round.
Qualifying is always particularly nerve-wracking.
If you don't perform well here, the competition is almost over before it really begins and you have no chance of a good placement.
In the final, the six best gymnasts compete against each other.
The all-around final was on Thursday.
Were you satisfied with your performance there?
I was able to show a really clean jump and was able to pull away a little straight away.
Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the second discipline, spiral, because I rolled out of the competition area.
Actually, it made me fall behind almost uncatchable.
The last discipline was the music freestyle.
That was really a magical moment.
I was able to show a flawless routine and got the highest score of the day.
Then it was time to wait and see what the other gymnasts would show.
And in the end it was actually enough: With my freestyle music I was able to catch up and take the lead by a hair's breadth.
First and fourth place were only separated by two tenths of a point, the competition was so close.
As you can imagine, I was overjoyed and after the award ceremony, I celebrated the title with my family.
And the competitions in jumping and freestyle music?
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to repeat my performance from the qualification in the jump on Saturday because the week was incredibly physically demanding.
Still, I got third place.
In the music freestyle, on the other hand, I managed to show a flawless freestyle again and secured the title.
I'm particularly proud of the triumph in the music freestyle because I put an incredible amount of work into this freestyle.
You have to prepare intensively for a World Cup.
How many hours a week of training do you need to put in to compete at world level?
That was a stressful time before the World Cup.
I usually trained four to five times a week for two to four hours in the Rhönradhalle.
The remaining days were then additional strength, stabilization and mobility training.
The closer the competition gets, the more intense the units become.
In the end, however, it was all worth it.
After graduating from Camerloher-Gymnasium in 2018, you began studying medicine in Hamburg.
Where do you train and for which club do you start?
I am now in the seventh semester of my medical studies.
I train and compete for TSV Trittau, a club east of Hamburg.
However, since I'm always in Düsseldorf and Freising, I train at TSV Weilheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at these times.
I have to stay flexible to always find a way to train.
How do you reconcile demanding medical studies and competitive sports?
Luckily, I'm still studying and not an assistant doctor yet.
There I can be very flexible when I plan time to study, and I only have to do my mandatory internships with compulsory attendance.
So that's very easy to tinker around with the sport.
I also really enjoy unwinding after studying with sports and I feel that this has a positive impact on my studies as well.
What fascinates you about wheel gymnastics that you put in so much effort?
The sport is full of possibilities, that's what fascinates me the most.
There are always new elements and combinations that come to mind that I would like to implement.
I'm also very ambitious and enjoy working towards a big goal like a World Cup, putting my heart and soul into it and testing my limits.
Do you still have time for other leisure activities besides your studies and sport?
In any case.
My friends and family are very important to me, and it's actually almost always possible to juggle it all.
We like to cook and often all together, learn together or make a little Hamburg unsafe.
Fortunately, my closest friends are either roommates, college friends or athletes, so that leisure time can often be combined with duty.
What sporting goals have you set yourself for the future?
My goal for next year is to make it into the national squad again, i.e. among the top ten in Germany.
Apart from that, there are a few great events where I will perform as a variety artist with the wheel.
I'm really looking forward to that too.
How do you want to reconcile sport with work after completing your studies?
I would definitely like to stay true to wheel gymnastics and eventually act as a trainer.
When I am no longer involved in competitive sports, I would like to continue to perform as a circus artist with the wheel.
It remains to be seen how well all of this can be reconciled with the time spent as an assistant doctor.
But where there's a will, there's a way.
Interview: Peter Spanrad
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