Schermer shows his family happiness: Max Heinzer celebrates Christmas in his new house

Mae (5) draws paper cutting patterns on paper bags and pushes them in a pile to his father. “Cut it out, please!” How practical when you have an athlete as a father. Cutting multiple layers of paper at the same time with scissors requires strength and endurance. Max Heinzer (36) demonstrates both things not only with his sword, but also at home at the dining table. If needlework were an Olympic discipline, the fencer would already have the gold medal in his pocket.

Is that enough for real precious metal? Qualification for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris runs until mid-March. “It would be great if I could taste the Olympic atmosphere for the fourth time after Tokyo, Rio and London,” says the world and European champion. He has been fencing since he was five years old. After trading the foil for the sword, he quickly became one of the best fencers in the world. But in recent months it has become quieter around him. The dismissal is unspecified. “Nothing is certain. But I am slowly starting to think about life after top sport.”

Max Heinzer about his plans after top sport

It is already on the right track, the new life. At the beginning of the summer, Max Heinzer and his wife Janique (30) bought a house. “There were many interested people and we had to work hard to apply. We even built a model of our dream house,” says Max. The effort was worth it, Heinzers was commissioned. “We couldn’t believe our luck!”

The three-storey house with a clapboard facade that needs some renovation is located in the middle of Küssnacht SZ – within walking distance of the Rigi cable car. Two months ago, Max and Janique were finally able to move into the top two floors with Mael, Mahina (3) and Lou (8 months). “It’s nice to have our own home as a family!”

The bottom floor is still empty. It offers space for dreams. Janique, a trained psychomotor therapist, has completed training as a doula and can imagine one day accompanying women through the birth process and thus contributing to the family’s income. Max studied sports sciences and dreams of continuing his education after retirement. «There are so many things that interest me! From sports management to your own fish farm.”

The bedrooms are located under the roof. The living floor in the middle consists of an open kitchen and stepless wooden floors. Perfect for Lou, who already crawls with athletic speed wherever there is something interesting to put in his mouth. He is currently on his way to the Christmas tree, where a glass ball hangs wonderfully low! Mael reacts quickly and pulls him back by the diaper belt. “You can’t have that, Lou, otherwise it will break,” he tells his brother. “But I’ll show you one you can touch.” He is given a paper ball that he made himself and holds it for his youngest sibling. Lou doesn’t hesitate long, takes it and tries to see if it can be eaten. “Someone’s hungry,” Janique says, picking up her baby to breastfeed him.

Meanwhile, Max finishes decorating the Christmas tree with Mael and Mahina. It will be really colorful! Classic Christmas baubles, homemade jewelry and animal figures dangle from the branches. “The children can choose a new Christmas bauble every year and if they move, we give them the ornament as a souvenir,” says Janique. “Please don’t talk about moving yet,” Max warns with a playful, haunted look on his face.

What Max and Janique Heinzer like so much about each other

Max and Janique have been a couple for eight years. They met at a party. “Janique actually wanted to set me up with a friend, but I was more interested in her.” After the first impression, he quickly realizes: with this woman you can steal horses! And sometimes grow beyond yourself. “I am neither musical nor a talented dancer,” Max Heinzer admits. Nevertheless, Janique managed to persuade him to take a salsa dancing course before the wedding in 2019. “No one lures me out of my reserve like she does!” But what he likes most about her is her good heart. “She is the most helpful and selfless person I know.”

She is also enthusiastic: Max is a devoted father who protects the children and just lets them be themselves, without expectations. Sometimes he almost goes too far. Whenever he spends an evening alone with the kids, he always throws a movie party. ‘You’re good at spoiling. “I’ll do the teaching,” Janique teases her husband.

As if to confirm that you can have a lot of fun with Dad, Mael asks: “Are we going to fish for meat again at Christmas?” Last year Max made his firstborn a fishing rod for Fondue Chinoise – with a hook on it to dip the meat rolls into the soup.

This year there is salmon. One that Max Heinzer caught himself on the sidelines of the World Cup in Vancouver, Canada, shortly before Christmas. It was just not enough for a podium finish. But the disappointment was quickly forgotten. “With three children you can’t come home for days and have a chat; Mael, Mahina and Lou wouldn’t understand that,” says Max Heinzer. Fatherhood taught him: “That there are more important things than sporting success.”