NDO's Jürgen Spieß qualifies for Olympics at the 2016 European Championships-Forde, Norway

By -


After Team NDO saw the 2016 FIBO Fair in Germany, I dropped Brigidene off at Frankfurt Airport and met my friend, Jason Martin who arrived to be the NDO Camera man/Assistant for the week. We decided hiring a car was the better option to get ourselves north to Forde, Norway to see NDO athlete Jürgen Spieß compete in the 2016 European Championships.

The company had been involved in Jürgen's progress for just over a year and he is very much a company favorite or certainly becoming one. I had spent time with him previous and we have always had fun and got along very well. This is partly why I wanted to be there to support him in his efforts as this was not just a usual EU champs for him, as he needed to lift a 385kg total to qualify for Rio 2016, his third Olympics. We were lucky enough to catch him the day before, he was nervous, but feeling good. He seemed ready.






On the day, he Snatched well and going in to the Clean & Jerk he needed 213kg more to make the 385kg requirement to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Jurgen opened with 206kg and smashed it to bits. No problem. He then went straight to 213kg for his 2nd lift. He struggled out of the clean and looked like he spent a lot of energy during the first part of the movement. He then jerked and just didn't lock out his arms and dropped it. This now meant he had about 1 minute to re-compose and follow himself and come out to lift a weight that just got the better of him. In true dramatic fashion, he returned to the platform and lifted 213kg as though the previous attempt had never happened. Tears and jubilation ensued as the realization hit that he would be attending his 3rd Olympic Games. We were ecstatic and I was so proud as a sponsor. I really understand now as a sponsor/supporter the real fulfilment and great feeling you experience when an athlete you are involved with has success and you are a part of the support team in them producing that result or performance. As an athlete I always questioned why coaches and support staff even did it, especially if they were an ex-athlete. But now I know.

Days later I caught up with the man of the moment for a quick interview in his home town of Heidelberg. Here is how it went aswell as the EU Champs performance.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Dennis Kohlruss Strongman

By -
Image
My name is Dennis Kohlruss, I am 28 years old 194cm tall and my body-weight is around 165 kilos. I am born and raised in Germany, the name of my hometown is Rastatt. I am a professional strongman. in this little blog, I will tell you a little bit about my carrier, my you tube channel and my gym. First it’s a pleasure for me to being a part of the NDO Team, for me its very imported to be around real athletes who do competitions and try to bring the best out of themselves in every situation in their life. Sorry my friends for my bad English, I only have my 4 years’ school English :-) Let’s talk about my carrier, I started strongman in 2012, I had my first national competition in Germany and got 6th place so I licked blood and became better and better BUT always with a plan in my head, grow slow but steady, listen to your body and don’t push it too far to fast! I did no power-lifting  or other strength sports b efore , only a little bit (disco pumping) that’s a synonym ...
Read more

Kate Parker - How Do I Manage To Do It All?

By -
Image
Mother, University research assistant and tutor, PhD student and Crossfit athlete. I often get asked how I manage to "do it all" so I thought I would provide a little insight into how and why I do what I do, and really it all boils down to four key things. 1. Goals From as young as I can remember, I have always been one to dream big and my one dream right from when I was a little girl was to one day be a "world champion". I wasn't quite sure what that would be in at the time, but I dreamt I would one day be the world's best in whatever sport I was in. Since then, I have set myself goals in all of my athletic endeavours which at first, are usually seemingly beyond my reach. But it's that very unattainableness that excites me and motivates me to always do my best and drives me to achieve more than before. I have a list a thousand pages long, but my main goal for 2015 was to qualify for the Reebok Crossfit Games Regional competition (afte...
Read more

Christine Envall Testimonial on Recov

By -
Image
"For me, the goal for training is always to improve on the previous workout... All with the aim of improving my physique. I still believe there is more I can improve, develop, grow, reshape... I have not reached my peak yet so I'm working to go forward not just keep what I have.    So when I say I want to improve on my previous workout I don't just mean increasing weights; while this would be a dream it's not a reality after 25 years! Instead improvement comes in many forms; an extra rep or two on a set, stricter form on the last few reps, a more controlled movement, better mind muscle connection, less rest needed between sets, an entire extra exercise or simply getting to the end of the workout and still having a pump.  Again while this is the goal, making this happen needs help... A lot is mental but a lot does come down to nutrition, meal timing & supplements. I've been around a long time and tried a lot of supplements and one product ...
Read more