Claudia Schuler: “I was very close to burnout”

At first she just talked about taking a break, but she soon focused on other options. In an interview with s+, she reveals how the now 31-year-old is shaping her current life. s+: You competed in your last competition in 2016. How much do you miss top-class sport and what exactly about it? Claudia Schuler: “I miss top-class sport a lot, but especially the other athletes and the world of sports for the disabled. It was a very special life that I was able to lead as an athlete. I was used to being on adrenaline, dealing with ups and downs and always having a goal in mind. I miss that a lot. It's not that easy to find privately, or at least only in a different form. I also really miss the world of the physically disabled, the contact and exchange with each other. If you don’t compete, you won’t have the contacts that would otherwise have occurred naturally.” They just wanted to take a break after missing qualifying for the 2016 Paralympics. How did the rather quiet resignation ultimately come about? Or do you still have a possible comeback in mind? “When I stopped playing sports in 2016, there were reasons for it. It wasn't an easy time for me personally. I did everything I could to qualify for the Paralympics in Rio, including changing coaches and tripling my training workload. The training was simply too much for me. Looking back, you could say I was very close to burnout. I could no longer concentrate and no longer enjoyed what I was doing. What I asked of myself back then was simply too much. In my sport, handcycling, only the upper body is trained, which has led to a lot of one-sided strain on the body. Then I lost a little bit of joy in sport.” “I did everything I could to qualify for the Paralympics in Rio, including changing coaches and tripling my training workload.” Claudia Schuler “Then I also had an operation that was on my mind and put a lot of stress on me. After the first disappointment, my life simply developed differently. I now rent holiday apartments and really enjoy working with the guests. Back then I also did my high school tourism training at the FOS Merano. At the moment I'm not really drawn to competitive sports and that's why it's difficult for me to imagine a comeback. But my heart still beats for sport. I still ride my handbike, but with a mountain bike, up to the mountain pastures. I used to always have to train on the bike paths, but now I can go up into the mountains and enjoy the beautiful views. That’s incredibly good for me.” You were looking forward to training as a mental trainer. Did that happen too? “I did this training out of interest, and as part of my diploma thesis I wrote about burnout in sport. This helped me a lot to process everything that had happened to me and to understand what I had done wrong. Working as a mental trainer myself is not yet my primary goal. This is a possibility for the future. In any case, I have always been interested in the topic of the mental. You can learn a lot yourself through the various exercises that I learned during the training. This takes you further in your own development, including in my current life. As I said, it remains a possibility for the future, but at the moment my focus is on working with the guests.” How are you as a holiday apartment landlord and receptionist? “It's still a bit difficult because of Corona, but I'm personally very satisfied. It is important to me that I can work again and make new acquaintances. I am someone who likes to be around people. That's why I really enjoy the contact with the guests. Of course it’s completely different to my past in professional sports.” This is Claudia Schuler Claudia Schuler was born on November 28, 1989 in Meran and has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of 3 months due to a doctor's error. She graduated from high school with a major in tourism and foreign languages in Meran, but was always enthusiastic about sports. They went to the top of the world on their handbikes. The greatest successes included a 6th (time trial) and 9th place (road race) at the Paralympics in London 2012, a 4th place (road race) at the 2011 World Cup in Denmark and, as a personal highlight, the 2013 World Cup home victory in the road race Marling. When Schuler missed qualifying for Rio 2016, she decided on a new path away from professional sport. She completed her training as a mental trainer in Innsbruck and currently works as a receptionist and rents out holiday apartments in Plaus, where she also lives. Interview: Tobias Unterhofer

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Claudia Schuler: “I was very close to burnout”

It has become quiet around her: Claudia Schuler, South Tyrol's best handbiker for many years, left disabled sports through a side door after missing qualification for the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.

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Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Claudia Schuler: “I was very close to burnout”

It has become quiet around her: Claudia Schuler, South Tyrol's best handbiker for many years, left disabled sports through a side door after missing qualification for the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.

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