Nicola Krause’s exclusive story: Europe’s best bricklayer no longer does brickwork

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Nicola Krause finally had five minutes left to tidy up and clean her workplace. After 18 hours of hard work in competition mode. He was surprised that he had completed three tasks in the allotted time. He didn’t expect this at the beginning of the competition. “I was extremely tired and exhausted by the end,” says the 23-year-old actor. “But I’m also happy.”

Little did he know at that moment that his performance over three days at the EuroSkills European Skills Championships from 5 to 9 September would earn him the gold medal. “At that point I would have been happy anywhere, even sixth or seventh. I knew I had given it my all, nothing more could have been possible.” You can see his tiredness in the photos. But at the same time, how pleased he is with himself.

The most surprising thing about Nicola Krause’s European championship as a bricklayer is that, although he had learned the trade, he had not worked at it for two years. A skiing accident in which he severely injured his knee forced him to train again. “It was clear from the beginning that I would stay in the construction industry,” he says. This is a world that suits him. And: He can definitely reveal his talent in this industry.

I’m no longer on the road as a construction worker

Krause switched from building construction to road construction. He can still be found on construction sites in his hometown of Entlebuch LU, but he no longer works as a construction worker but as a construction manager. He is currently completing his advanced training as a foreman, and foreman and then construction inspector school is already planned. What it shows: A trade apprenticeship offers good further training and progression opportunities.

However, before the accident, SwissSkills did not want to give up participating in the European Championship for which it had qualified in 2020. First of all, it meant he had to retrain skills he hadn’t used in almost two years. But you don’t forget what you love, he tells himself.

He spends individual training days from January to May and about a week a month since May. “We received special stones in the last training session, these were supposed to be the stones we will use in the competition in Gdansk, Poland.” But this turned out to be a mistake: the bricks that Krause had to work with at the European Championships were much softer. “Thankfully it wasn’t the other way around, which would have been a bigger problem.”

Krause made good progress in the competition. He made a small mistake on the first day, but he managed to achieve a pace that he had not been able to achieve before. The second morning was a little worse, but he was able to start the third task in the evening. “But in the evening I realized I had done something wrong.” So on the third day he lost half an hour disassembling it. Still, he managed to finish the job with five minutes left in the contest. How did he do this? “Willpower and discipline,” he says.

we pushed each other

The knee did not hinder him during the three-day competition in Gdansk. “We had a physical therapist with us who was always able to help me if I ran into any problems,” says Krause. The support from the entire team was also incredible. “We pushed each other, it was a unique experience.” This was the only way the great success was ultimately possible: 15 individual competitors and a team of two won 12 gold and 3 silver medals.

So, doesn’t Europe’s wall-building champion miss building walls? “I’m still a bricklayer at heart,” Krause says. For the last two summers, he helped friends throw a barbecue in front of a mountain cabin. “And if I build a house myself, it will definitely have a wall with exposed structure.”

Source : Blick