TriathletAndrea Salvisberg
My road to triathlon
Our career started with weekly swimming lessons at the local Burgdorf club. We also cycled around 14 kilometres to school every day and accompanied our mother on her runs.
We were able to celebrate our first successes in triathlon competitions early on and started to approach everything a little more professionally. We shared the same coach, attended the same training camps and competed in many races together. Over time, however, we all went our own way. But the dream remained the same for all of us: to represent Switzerland at the Swiss Olympics. In 2016, this dream became a reality for me. The Olympic Games in Rio were the greatest experience of my life and my brothers' pride was immense at that moment!
So it was all the more wonderful when I was able to represent Switzerland again at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Growing up with three sports-loving brothers and a mum who had competed in the IM Hawaii, it came as no surprise that we would all find a passion for triathlon. At the latest when we were allowed to cheer on athletes loudly for the first time at the IM Zurich and hand out wet sponges to cool them down with a big smile.
A 2nd career on the Longdistance?
But sometimes life plays out differently than you would hope...
Just one week before the World Championships, I was diagnosed with meningitis (inflammation of the meninges). This forced me to cancel both World Championship races.
What followed is still a big mystery to the doctors today...
11 very tough months in which I was plagued by weekly cyclical fever attacks and headaches. Whether and how my career could continue was just a big question mark and a constant battle in my head for a long time...
But giving up was never an option for me. And so it is that for a few months now I've been working with my new coach, Ben Reszel, on the big dream of Kona!
After the Olympic Games in Tokyo, it was time to make the leap to the medium-long distance. The new goals quickly felt right and the successes came!
But as quickly as the success came, so did the first setback. After the first year on the middle distance, I was diagnosed with myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) in the middle of the 2022 season. Out for 3 months - season over. What remained was the great will to come back stronger.
And so it was to be. Shortly after resuming training, I was able to run my first marathon in 2:24:24. The 2023 season started well, very well in fact. Not only was I able to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships, but I also got my ticket for the long-distance World Championships in Nice.
