Triathlon
Natascha Badmann: "I cried and cursed, but never stopped"
Natascha Badmann, 53, is considered the queen of triathlon. The Swiss woman has won the IRONMAN in Hawaii six times. We met her at home in Zofingen - for a chat.
Here are three numbers for all those who don't know what it means to complete a triathlon: There are 3.86 kilometres to swim, 180.2 kilometres to cycle and the marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres to run.
These three numbers have shaped the life of Red Bull legend Natascha Badmann for a quarter of a century. Today she lectures on deceleration, stress reduction and the perfect work-life balance, trains other triathletes on Gran Canaria with her coach and life partner and still competes.
After her first triathlon in Hawaii: Natascha comes second in 1996.
© Getty Images
THE RED BULLETIN: Am I keeping you from training today?
NATASCHA BADMANN: Yes (laughs), if I'm honest, yes. The weather is nice, but it will be tomorrow too.
You'll be 54 in December - how much do you still train?
I try to train every day. But the intensity varies according to my mood. For years, my training schedule was timed to the minute. Today I also do some gardening - and cut until my arms hurt. In the past, I would never have done that because it wouldn't have helped my training.
So, you didn't have a timetable as much as a minute-by-minute plan.
Yes. When I was preparing for a competition, there were only three things in my life: train, eat, sleep.
20 years later: Natascha during the cycling competition in Hawaii.
© Jesper Gronnemark/Red Bull Content Pool
In times like these, everything remains uncertain. Do you question the point of training when no one can say whether the next competition will even take place?
No, for me it's clear today: this is a healthy lifestyle and I like doing it. Nothing stops me from training. I have cried, I have cursed, but I have never stopped....
Cried? Why?
Because it was so hard. I remember it well, it was on the Gotthard-Nufenen-Furka loop. I could describe to you exactly which bend on the Furka was the one where I knew the steepest ramp was still to come, the very steepest, and I thought, no, I won't make it. I stopped and just cried.
Can you describe the pain a triathlete feels?
When I started triathlon, I said I can't do this sport if I think about pain every time I train. So I deleted that word. I don't feel any pain. I feel the training maybe not easy, exhausting, but not painful. It's always the thought first that makes you give up, long before the body does. That's why this thought control is extremely important - I've learned how strong my head can be. Even though I was initially considered an esoteric.
Wreaths and a photo of the finish line hang in her training room.
© Gian Paul Lozza
Why is that?
That comes from the time when mental training was not an issue. I won the Powerman and danced with joy at the finish. A journalist asked me, "Why are you happy, why are you dancing?" I said: "It was great, this silence in the forest. I heard the raindrops falling on the leaves, the birds chirping" - and there it was (taps his forehead): Birds in the head, esoteric. - But that was my way of blocking out the pain.
If those moments are so good - how long does that reward last?
Well, I hope the rest of life. There is the memory of the races. When you finish in Hawaii, there's this enormous, indescribable feeling of happiness - it's so great that it's far too much for me, so great that I want to share my happiness with everyone. I can't put it into words. Even today I sometimes think: happiness for everyone.
You've got tears in your eyes.
Because it is so beautiful.
Close your eyes, a confident smile on your lips.
© Gian Paul Lozza
How did you discover mental training?
Through Toni. Without him, my career would not have become what it is. I probably wouldn't have even started triathlon. But Toni always told me that you are much stronger than you know.
What is this strength?
Training, conscious training. I have learned to programme my body - I use power words and words of calm for this.
What is a power word?
The first one I chose for myself was "eagle". The idea of being an eagle - big, strong and majestic - gave me the strength to carry on in extreme situations. The eagle was always there when I needed it, it grabbed me by the shoulders and carried me to the finish. Before my last Hawaii victory (2005) I rehearsed a new power word - why, I don't know, intuitively - and that was "wolf". All the years before, I had always been first off the bike and didn't have to chase anyone. But this year it was different, I wasn't the first and I had to start chasing. Like a wolf on the hunt.
Natascha at the finish line of the 20th anniversary triathlon.
© DPA Picture Alliance
Let's look back on the stages of your life together. You became a mother at 17. How did you see your future back then?
Dark and sad. I was too young, I was still developing myself. My boyfriend, my first great love, left me alone with the child.
How did you escape from that hole?
It was a long process. I threw myself into work, invested a lot in chocolate and went on crazy diets. Then I met Toni. He said, "Miss, you're not going to be happy like this. Start eating right. And then do some exercise."
From a little bit of sport to a top triathlete - you once said that you had no talent, but you had the will. Is that true?
Absolutely. I had two left hands, two right feet, nothing fit together. At one of our meetings Toni told me that he was going running with a friend - around Lake Hallwil.
I said I would join them, but I was too late. So I set off alone - and ran 21 kilometres.
Oh.
Practically without training. Toni said, "There's something, she can do things she's never done before." Toni recognised my will.
Trip to Austria: Natascha 2012 at the IRONMAN in St. Pölten.
© Mirja Geh/Red Bull Content Pool
Where did that motivation suddenly come from?
I think I've always had that, it was just suppressed or not allowed to live because I had a messed up childhood. Toni discovered something in me that I had by nature - and I was able to live my vocation.
How long does it actually take you to recover from an IRONMAN?
It's not easy. I had years where I was burnt out, I didn't want to compete for six months. I was really empty then - physically and mentally. And I've had years when I was so full of energy that I immediately asked: "When is the next one?"
In 2004 you were awarded the title retrospectively because Nina Kraft was convicted of doping. Were you cheering at home then?
It was a catastrophe to not be able to cross the finish line as the winner.
The most drastic event in your career was the crash in 2007, a motorcyclist pushed you off, "in the form of life". You were so badly injured that you couldn't wipe your own tears.
The only thing that was unbroken was my collarbone.
Which the doctors initially believed was broken.
It took me a while to realise that. The decisive moment was after both shoulders had been operated on and I woke up with my arms like this (lifts them up, shows how they were fixed in the resting position). I had the feeling that I had lost everything.
But then there was this other voice that said, "You're so ungrateful, you haven't lost everything, you can think, you're not dead. Do something with your head." Then I started swimming in my head.
Is there life without triathlon?
Yes, it definitely exists. It's just nice to stand by a lake or a sea in the morning and feel that special tingling sensation.
