Olympic hopeful Angelica Moser about her cult interview: ‘I actually knew exactly the limits’

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Angelica Moser (26) knows the feeling very well when the Olympic Games are within reach. The pole vaulter from Zurich already took part in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021. But when she realized live in the SRF interview after her strong 5th place at the World Championships in Budapest that she had also jumped the Paris Olympic limit of 4.75 meters, Moser’s dams burst.

The tearful interview is iconic and symbolizes the fact that, after two years of epidemics with many injuries, Moser is now back at the top of the world in 2023. “I was finally able to train again without having to think about injuries,” she tells Blick at a Swiss Olympic event in Sursee LU, where more than 100 athletes are preparing for their possible participation in Paris 2024.

Your choice of a coach was a risk

But back to the cult interview. How is it possible that Moser is surprised when she finds out that the line has been successfully crossed? It’s hard to imagine a track and field athlete not knowing the qualifying requirements for the big highlight.

Moser: “I actually knew exactly the boundaries. But it was the World Cup, I was completely focused on this match and never thought about what else this height meant. That’s why it was so emotional when the news of the Olympic Games suddenly came.” With 4.75 meters, she also equaled her personal record in Budapest; she had previously only reached this height indoors.

Moser flies higher than ever before. Her choice of coach for this stand-up season was a risk. As the former coach of the Kambundji sisters, Adrian Rothenbühler (50) is a brilliant name in Swiss athletics coaching. But pole vaulting? This was new territory for the sprint coach.

Rothenbühler makes Moser faster

But Moser says that they approached each other step by step with a kind of transition phase. While she was still training with Nicole Büchler (39), Rothenbühler joined sporadically in 2022. The collaboration was intensified for the indoor season because Büchler gave up his coaching job for family reasons.

And then Moser continued with Rothenbühler for the offseason. “The main focus for him is on the run-up, which has had a huge impact,” says Moser. She now runs faster towards the mat – when she adjusted the stick insertion to a faster speed, stand-up season followed.

Now the woman from Andelfingen has started training again for the Olympic season. Besides Paris in August, a big goal: the European Championships in Rome in June.

Source : Blick