As of: February 14, 2024, 3:19 p.m
By: Nico-Marius Schmitz
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The best motivation: Gesa Krause with daughter Lola.
© Photo: Private
Lola Emilia was born in April 2023.
And life changed for Gesa Krause.
The 31-year-old made her comeback at the New Year's Eve run in Trier, and now Krause is challenging the competition on the track again.
The big goal for the 3000 m steeplechase (bronze at the 2015 and 2019 World Cup) is the Olympic Games in Paris.
In an interview with our newspaper, Krause talks about motivation from her daughter Lola, the balance between competitive sports and being a mother, and her second home in Kenya.
Gesa Krause, the New Year's Eve run in Trier was her first competition after the pregnancy and birth of daughter Lola. How did that feel?
It was incredibly fun.
2022 was already special.
I knew then that I would no longer be able to do something that meant so much to me for a long time.
The excitement and anticipation of finally getting a taste of competition again was huge.
Of course there was also uncertainty.
I was very surprised that I was already moving so quickly.
This showed me that I worked very well during the pregnancy and afterwards - and that I can build on that.
To what extent does your relationship to competitive sports change as a mother?
Reality catches up with you very quickly.
It is important for Lola that I am there for her and take care of her.
They're probably less interested in my times (laughs).
But it's also really nice when you quickly arrive back in the other world after competitions and slip into the role of mother.
Did you quickly cope with the stress of training?
We really worked very intensively at the training camp in Kenya.
This was difficult for me at first and was a change.
I was no longer used to pushing the limits so strongly.
It took a while for things to feel somewhat normal again (laughs).
It just takes time and patience until I can exploit my full potential again.
Of course I would like to run faster again now, but that's not a wish list.
Do you find it easy to have this patience? Or do you constantly think to yourself: This has to go faster.
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As well as.
The realistic part of me knows that it is right the way it is right now.
If you want something to be particularly good, it doesn't happen all at once.
But of course there is also that ambitious part that would like to skip three steps.
These two parts simply have to be in harmony.
I dream of running really fast again, of being able to amaze myself.
But everything step by step.
With Oliva Gürth (21) you have a strong and highly talented national competitor. Does that motivate you even more?
The Slovenian Marusa Zrimsek is still in our training group.
It's hugely helpful when you have athletes who are at the same or better level.
You are challenged not only in competition, but in every training session.
Olivia is very good at sprinting, but she can also set the pace at times.
This is very beneficial for both of us.
If you constantly feel someone breathing down your neck, it's completely different than running the races alone.
How do you coordinate your life between being a mother and competitive sports?
A rough plan is good - but at the end of the day you always have to be spontaneous.
My parents live nearby and support Robert and me with on-site care.
For example, Robert's parents were there for three weeks at the last training camp.
The whole family goes along.
You can't plan everything down to the last detail.
There are always surprises.
Gesa Krause: The whole family goes along
What is most important in terms of sport in the current phase?
If you haven't competed in a year, it's not that easy to get registered for bigger meetings.
The current plan is to get back into competition routine and competitive toughness.
After the indoor season we go into extended basic training, at the end/mid of March we go back to Kenya, then there is the fine-tuning in South Africa.
Hopefully I can take part in my first outdoor competitions at the end of April/beginning of May.
And hope that the Olympic standard falls relatively quickly.
You once said that Kenya is like a second home to you.
We have been flying to Kenya since 2010.
The training there is very hard.
You have the classic daily routine: eat, sleep, train.
In my case, Lola is also looked after.
The time in Kenya has always helped me a lot and my coach is also of the opinion that we shouldn't do anything different in the Olympic year.
Paris is the big goal.
This is the absolute dream.
It would be my fourth Olympic Games.
The whole year, my entire everyday life is geared towards this goal.
I am confident that we are taking the right path.
And the idea that my daughter can be there in the stadium is of course incredibly motivating.
Interview: Nico-Marius Schmitz