Kjersti Plätzer - winning the Olympic 20km Race Walk silver in 2000 (© Getty Images)
Teamwork, commitment, dedication, energy and enjoyment are values embodied by the group of athletes coached by ex-German 800m and 1500m runner Stephan Plätzer. The most prominent among them being his wife, Kjersti, Norway’s silver medallist at the 2000 Olympics 20km Race walk, who last week joyously announced the 'recruitment' of a brand new member of ‘Team Plätzer’.
With mixed feelings about her 12th placing in Athens, the best performance of an injury ravaged year, progression towards the Beijing Games seemed like it would be something of a Long March for the 33-year-old Kjersti Plätzer.
”I got injured in the warm-up at the World Cup in Naumburg last year. I then lost all of May’s training. I think my body telling me it needed a rest.”
Now she’s announced she won’t compete this year, as she’s expecting a baby in July.
‘It’s funny, after the Olympics Stephan told me “as your coach, my advice is the faster you get pregnant the better. Then you can train through the winter and be back for the next winter’s training. But as your husband I may think differently!”’
”The timing couldn’t have worked out better. I’ll be able to train and be back training for 2 to 3 months at the end of the year without losing the benefit of being at altitude.”
‘Team Plätzer’ seem to have everything timed nicely for their regular altitude camp starting this month in Flagstaff, Arizona. From there it’s on to the first IAAF Walking Challenge event of 2005 on 19 March in Tijuana, Mexico.
Kjersti Plätzer will be supporting her 24-year-old brother Erik Tysse (19th in the 20km Race Walk at the 2003 IAAF World Championships) in his comeback race. He wasn’t allowed to start at the Olympics and had to rest for three months due to mononucleosis, the “kissing disease as we say in Norway”.
Kjersti will be keeping fit throughout her pregnancy.
“As long as I listen to my body I know I can train. Maybe one day, race walking, the next running, for an hour or so. It’s nice to go out and just enjoy the exercise with no pressure to go faster. I had a good experience last time – I trained, only hiking at the end, up until 4 days before Kiara was born.”
”The doctor even noticed a definite endurance effect in her – he was surprised at Kiara’s low heart rate! This is good to know but I have to be very careful in the few days in adjusting to the altitude.”
”Flagstaff has excellent facilities and I feel at home there. Sometimes there’s a lot of snow.”
Keira was born the year after an Olympics. Were both planned this way?”
”This one was! I didn’t qualify for Atlanta and we decided we wanted a family and she came along in October 1997. This time we wanted to get another baby faster!”
”The end point will be Beijing in 2008. I’ve had a long international career from the European Junior Championship in 1985 but, with a break, the next three years seem like hardly any time at all.”
”Besides three years after I had my first baby I got my medal!”
”Stephan is trying to tempt me to go for the 2009 World Championship – the stadium in Berlin looks awesome. We’ll see. At the moment I’m working for Adecco, my sponsor, learning about the company. In September I start their ‘Leadership Course’. This is great for my confidence as I think it’s important to have stairs to climb in your working career, just as in athletics.”
Tim Watt for the IAAF