Petra Klingler Olympic training interview

Petra Klingler won the Boulder World Championship in 2016, and many say that her surprised smile after sticking the crux on the final boulder was one of the most emotional moments of competitive climbing ever, video clip. (c) Eddie Fowke

The 28-year-old Swizz has been an active competition climber since 2006, and she must be considered a late bloomer as the first time she finished Top-5 in an international youth or senior event was when winning a Boulder WC in 2015. Interestingly, she has also won an Ice World Cup in 2015 and later have gotten another seven podiums. She qualified for the Olympics by being #8 in the Combined WC in 2019.

How did you handle 2020, which must have been a difficult year for any athlete?
I have always tried to see things positive and find little or bigger things that I could hold on to. In 2020, this was not easy and there were times where my motivation was low but generally, I can actually say that I gained an extra year. I gained a year to train and develop new skills to focus on other stuff as well and to have a little break also before 2021. As an example, throughout the lockdown, I had the time and focused on my flexibility weakness so I did a lot of mobility stretching and really worked on that, which helped me a lot in climbing. I really see how I progressed there.

In general, I think I handled 2020 really well. I learnt a lot about myself, about training and relaxing and I had time for my social life a little bit more, which was really nice. I look back and I am happy how I dealt with it and see how valuable this year actually was for me.

What is your season plan ahead of the Olympics?
We have all learnt that with Corona nothing is for sure. Planning is still really hard so my focus is to train my best and stay healthy. It would be really bad if I would get injured. I really try to rest enough and sleep a lot to be able to perform in my training. For the season, I am really psyched for the kick-off for the first World Cup of the year in Meiringen. Every time really special to have the kick-off in Switzerland. It is nice to see how hard they work to make it possible. A huge thanks to the whole organization of Meiringen who are working double shifts preparing two competitions; scenario A and B.

After that, I will take a little break, before we then get to the "end-zone" of the Olympics. Train hard and get back into competition mode. I plan to do the WC in Salt Lake City as well, of course, the WC in Villar. After that, it is already July and I really try to take it step by step, day by day and week by week. To stay as flexible as possible and to adapt to give my best every day. My goal is to just have fun and to enjoy this journey to the Olympics.

What do you expect will be the biggest challenge at the Olympics to get a good result?
To not get lost with all these emotions. Getting too nervous for nothing, too excited, too distracted by all other sports and athletes. I mean, we have never had an event like that. It is the first time eyes will definitely be on climbing. I have heard that it can be challenging to stay focused, especially as our event is rather at the end of the Olympics. We have to stay focused over a longer period and maintain our fitness.

For my team, I guess it will be a huge challenge to organize everything under these circumstances. To get all the necessary information prepared and organized so they can kind of take as much from my shoulders as possible. So teamwork will be necessary and a new challenge.

Are you doing special training to prepare for the heat in Tokyo?
Yes, of course. It is a subject we are looking at. We are trying to put our training a little bit in the afternoon when it will be really hot. But generally, I am really lucky because I kind of handle the heat really well. For sure skin is going to be an issue and we are dealing with that trying new things. We are also talking with the Swiss Olympics and athletes from different sports. Of course, also nutrition and hydration are important. I also think it is a mental thing also. Luckily we had a chance to climb in Tokyo in 2019. We have experienced the heat and we know about how hot it can get and already knowing it will be a challenge will hopefully help to deal with it.

Who are the strongest contenders for the gold medal in your opinion?
Janja and Miho, who are contenders for the gold. For the guys, of course, we also have the Japanese athletes who are super strong. We have Jongwon and we have Ondra, who of course is a super candidate. But we also have young athletes with the male and the female who can surprise. I am really excited to see climbing evolve in the Olympics and wonder who will take the medals.