How an emergency became a South Tyrolean role model career

“Life is full of happy coincidences,” says Klaus Fissneider. The now 54-year-old from Kalter was one of the most successful swimmers in South Tyrol in his youth. Because he grew disproportionately quickly (and, above all, a lot) as a child, a doctor advised his parents Herma (78) and Franz (79) to encourage the boy to take part in sports. Gymnastics or swimming seemed particularly suitable for the doctor.

The emergency ultimately turned into a stroke of luck. Also because Klaus Fissneider met gymnastics teacher Ingo Seyr, swimming icon of SSV Bozen, when he was 7 years old. “I take my hat off to my great teacher Seyr with great respect. “I loved swimming from the first moment, especially because it was taught to me so honestly, simply and yet with empathy,” says Klaus Fissneider. And this sporting discipline has shaped the trained business economist in every respect, who today plays a key role in the Italian subsidiary of the Würth empire. Also because one of his two daughters, Lisa, was a two-time junior world champion and narrowly missed out on taking part in the Olympics in London. Italian champion at 38 years old Klaus Fissneider became Italian champion only once, in 1975 in Ancona, over 66 meters breaststroke. However, not in the prime of his sporting life, but at the ripe old age of 38, in the master class. “Swimming was and is enriching for me. My sport has taught me a lot and probably also shaped my character. I really won a lot, but I also lost a lot. As I see it today, my youth as a swimmer was an extremely important phase of my life. I learned to grit my teeth, cohesion was important in our team and standing up for each other is a quality that helps you overcome many obstacles in life. My enthusiasm for sport also rubbed off on my later professional life,” says Fissneider.

Fissneider was a swimming specialist at the VSS for 10 years.

Until a few weeks ago, Fissneider, born on April 19, 1967, was a specialist for swimming in the VSS (Association of South Tyrolean Sports Clubs). “On April 7th, after 10 years of service, I handed over this position to Igor Lusetti from SSV Leifers. In these ten years I was finally able to give something back to my sport, which has given me so much and with which I associate wonderful experiences,” says Fissneider gratefully. His sporting adventure began somewhat by chance and only ended at the age of 45. General practitioner advice as a foundation for a career It all started with a very banal swimming course in the indoor swimming pool in Bolzano. The family doctor said that Klaus would develop better physically if he played sports. But Ingo Seyr soon “discovered” the tall boy and recognized the talent that lay dormant in him. “At that time, sports teacher Herbert Mayr, who later became deputy mayor of Bolzano, was also standing at the edge of the pool. Seyr encouraged and challenged me. He combined talent and technology, enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Meeting him was, I can’t say it often enough, absolute luck for me,” says Fissneider. By the way: Klaus' siblings Heinz and Heidi, 3 and 4 years younger, were literally carried away by their big brother and role model.

“We learned not just for competition, but for life.” Klaus Fissneider “I was also lucky that my parents were open to sports and drove us from Kaltern to training several times a week. At SSV Bozen we only trained a fraction of what other clubs invested in preparatory work. Strength training, for example, was taboo for us. But Ingo Seyr tried - even with success - to get the most out of every competitive swimmer and to shape us into complete swimmers who can master all styles. Seyr watched how we moved, then he took us out of the water and at the edge of the pool the movement sequences were simulated dry with coordination between legs and arms until we were sitting. A lot of effort was put into it. Nowadays, a lot of things are easier: you can film the training with your cell phone, then evaluate the video later and get to the bottom of errors. However, we didn’t just learn for competition, but for life,” says Fissneider. A special “marketing” of the “fish” Of course, Klaus Fissneider collected victories and records in all swimming styles like other people his age collected stamps. “At some point I stopped counting,” he laughs. And Ingo Seyr was also top-notch and way ahead of his time in the “marketing” of his “fish”. For years he stopped by the “Dolomiten” sports editorial team at least once a week with result lists and short texts.

Klaus Fissneider: A life for swimming.

He contested his first Italian championship in Ancona in 1976, which he won straight away. 2 years later he became Vitimelian champion in the 50 meter breaststroke in Bari. At the age of 21, after getting to know Italy extensively and completing military service, Klaus Fissneider decided to study in Innsbruck and, out of necessity, against sport. He studied business administration at the University of Innsbruck. But it wasn't a goodbye forever, neither from swimming nor from SSV Bozen. At the age of 37 he returned and won, as a re-entry, so to speak, in the master class over 50 meter dolphin. At the age of 45, Klaus Fissneider drew a line from sport for the second time. Daughter Lisa is a two-time junior world champion Klaus Fissneider passed on the joy of swimming to his daughters Lisa and Evelyn. The former collected 13 Italian championship titles and was twice junior world champion in the 2011 meter and 50 meter breaststroke as well as runner-up in the 100 meter breaststroke in Peru in 200. In her home country, Lisa was honored with the Ossi Pircher Prize in 2011. In 2017 Lisa retired from active competitive sports.

Today Fissneider holds a key position at Würth.

Klaus Fissneider's professional positions included Loacker, Raika Überetsch and, since 1996, Würth Italy. “The first question that the then managing director of Würth Italy, Toni Seebacher, asked me during a job interview a quarter of a century ago was: “Do you have any sports hobbies?” Seebacher himself was also an athlete, loved football and ice hockey and knew that those who practice sport with heart and mind are also resilient in their careers,” says Fissneider.

Today he works in strategic operations management at Würth, looks after medium-sized and large customers throughout Italy and travels a lot. “Working in a team is at the top of my agenda. Working in a team, like I learned to do within SSV Bozen.” In terms of sport, the weight has shifted a bit. “For fitness, stress reduction and for the fun and enjoyment of exercise and life, I do cross-country skiing, hike a lot and enjoy cycling. I enjoy practicing these sports with my wife Sabine, to whom I have been happily married since 1992,” says Klaus Fissneider.

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How an emergency became a South Tyrolean role model career

Klaus Fissneider is one of the most successful swimmers that has ever existed in South Tyrol. There is something unique about his story.

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