Track and field athlete Cindy Roleder has been a mother for almost three months – she wants to compete in the Olympic Games in four months. In the ntv.de interview, she talks about her new life, the reactions to her plan and why the 31-year-old feels left alone.
Ms. Roleder, congratulations on your birth. Their daughter was born on January 1st. What is the new life like? Much has changed?
Cindy Roleder: Of course, a lot has changed. The little one wants our full attention and that’s a good thing. My husband and I grooved in well and now that I’m training again and he’s also on the road for work, time management is important to us. But we have good help from Grandma and Grandpa and I think the little one makes it very, very easy for us. At night she sleeps five hours and four hours. She laughs a lot and actually only cries when she is hungry. So we have a really relaxed baby. It’s a lot of fun, it’s just something completely different from life before, when you were only responsible for yourself.
You just said you are already back in training. In fact, you never stopped, but did what was good for you until you were born. How is it going now? Is everything working well?
Yes, it’s going really well. I didn’t think I’d be ready at this point. I’m running hurdles again and it’s really getting better from week to week. At the beginning, when I started jogging, I thought, “Oh my god!” You dream, you want to run fast, but you can’t get anywhere. You have to imagine it roughly. The head says quickly, but the legs say no, but the body remembers quite quickly. It really feels like sprinting again. And it looks pretty good on videos, I think.
You say you don’t understand why so many believe that you can’t be a mother and do competitive sports at the same time. Are there any issues that you did not expect that occurred now?
Cindy Roleder (* 1989) is a track and field athlete, the seven-time German champion is particularly successful in the hurdles sprint. She has already won two European Championship titles and was a silver medalist at the 2015 World Cup. She has already undercut the norm for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, now she has to confirm the time of 12.98 seconds over the 100 meter hurdles. After the birth of her daughter on January 1st, she would like to participate in the competition again in mid-May.
She reports on Instagram as #fastest mom about being a mother and her career.
The only thing that is a bit of a problem is my feet. They’re having adjustment problems right now, and sometimes they really hurt. Sprinting is an extreme burden on the feet and I can already tell. I would not have thought that the feet would recede so blatantly.
Your big goal is the Olympic Games, which are due in four months. Is it something new for your head to have so little preparation time? So far, you have always been able to plan for the long term with an Olympic cycle. Is it something else to know that everything has to be in place in just a few months after the birth?
Well, I take it really easy, either it works or it doesn’t. Of course I want it to work, but even if it doesn’t, I notice that everyone around me just thinks it’s crazy that I’ve already started and that I believe I can do it. So I firmly believe that I can do it. And my trainer too – and my trainer is a really strong realist. If he’s there and says, “Okay, we’re going to do this,” then I know it can work. He has a lot of experience, he has a plan, so I’m relaxed. I can’t do more than exercise.
Now we’re talking about the Olympics. And actually we’re talking about something where nobody really knows what’s going on. What is your view of Tokyo as your destination? Is it anticipation, is it skepticism, maybe even worry?
In principle, I have to say, I just want to run again. Regardless of the Olympics, I want to compete again. Of course I followed the indoor European championships for track and field athletes and also heard from the fencers, handball players and soccer players that there were constant positive tests. That got me thinking. If there are loopholes at these events, even though everyone is in this “bubble”, then I’m really curious to see how things will go at the Olympics. If not just a sport, but if all athletes come from all over the world. If it doesn’t work at these small events, the hygiene concept at the Olympics has to be excellent.
Are there any conditions that you attach to your participation? For example, should all athletes, helpers, officials, etc. be vaccinated, which is up for discussion?
I say the officials, scientists, etc. have an obligation to deliver. You need to develop an excellent hygiene concept. Now I kind of grumble and say “Here, attention!” I don’t want the buck to be blamed on each other. Most recently, Mr Hörmann (DOSB President, editor’s note) said that some athletes may have handled it too luschi. It’s just simple, we blame the athletes. I have to honestly say that I don’t feel like it anymore. It’s their job to build a good concept, which makes us athletes safe. And my job is to run fast. Before that, however, they have to ensure that we have a safe journey and come back healthy. We still don’t know too much about this virus: what are the consequential damages? I think of the German wrestler Frank Stäbler, who took an extremely long time to get well again. I followed it on Instagram, that he worked a lot on breathing techniques and so on.
And I grumble to say “Hey, that’s not how it works”. Everyone who wants to implement the Olympics has to exchange ideas with the other organizers and find out what was the mistake? Why were there infections? They have to do better then. And about the vaccinations: Yes, of course I would feel safer if I were vaccinated. But I don’t want to take the vaccination away from anyone who needs it, who is at risk.
It has already been decided that the games should take place without foreign spectators. How bad is it for you that your family is not allowed to fly with you?
We wouldn’t have taken the little one with us anyway, she’s much too small for that. We don’t want to expect her to take this long flight. But of course there will be different games than in Rio or London, that is very clear. You always hear that the people in Japan are not really behind it. There is such a dichotomy, such a back and forth. Also here in Germany, from the government, but also from the Olympic Sports Confederation. Of course it is an exceptional situation for everyone, very clearly. But those responsible now have to make decisions because it is their job.
So you want a decision by the DOSB as to whether the Germany team can compete in Tokyo without any worries?
Mr. Hörmann recently said that the athletes could stay at home, nobody is forced to drive. When I heard that, I was pissed off at leaving us athletes so alone. Medals and placements are often counted and celebrated together, but when there is such a sticky situation, the athletes are responsible for themselves. I would like more support there.
For you, your participation in the Olympics also depends on sponsorship contracts, sports aid funding and more.
Exactly, cadre affiliations, Olympic bases, so how many cadres are at an Olympic base, depending on the funding comes. That’s what I mean by that: Medals are often counted. But when a topic comes up that is not so nice, the athletes are suddenly responsible. That struck me negatively.
How about you if the Olympic Games are canceled after all? Is that an incentive to continue until 2024?
It is important that it simply returns to normal at some point, regardless of the sport. I think we all, so the entire population is now tired. I just wish that there would be competitions again. When I think back to the European Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2018, to 80,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, I would love to have that again. And then I also think of Munich 2022, the European Championships in my own country – those are long-term goals. But now I’m very, very tired from this whole situation. Yes, I think I am speaking not only for us athletes, but for everyone, that it is slowly becoming very exhausting.
You have already mentioned that you get a lot of feedback from other women. This is because you have the “Fastest Mama” Instagram channel, where you have been providing a lot of insights since the beginning of your pregnancy. Is this something you just enjoy or could this kind of advice and exchange be something for your career after exercising?
So first of all, it’s fun for me. During pregnancy I noticed that you were a bit alone. Nobody can tell you what can you do? What can you no longer do in sports? I just wanted to show what is possible. It is clear to me that I can only provide advice. I can only say that I did that, that was good for me. Maybe it is good for you too, but if not, leave it out, every pregnancy is different. I also want to dispel myths. Breastfeeding, for example, is such a topic that some women are so crazy about it. Everyone should decide that individually for themselves. I think the children all grow up no matter which way you go. Everyone loves their child, whether breastfeeding or not.
I have now also noticed that there are a few very young athletes who may have the wish to have a child at some point.
You have become a role model. Are you aware of that?
So at the beginning I wasn’t so aware that it was such a blatant achievement. Because I already know some who have come back after pregnancy. Christina Schwanitz (shot putter, editor’s note) for example, Jenny Oeser (former heptathlete, editor’s note), Christina Obergföll (former javelin thrower, editor’s note) started all over again. But they didn’t make it that public. I worked with my management team, with Robert Harting, who has twins himself. We noticed that it is a topic that interests many because many are left alone. It seems to be well received.
Anja Rau spoke to Cindy Roleder
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