What was your favourite moment from this Olympic Games?
The stadium was amazing and it was just so nice to run in front of so many people. The last Olympics was in Tokyo with no people and no spectators. And then in Rio, it wasn't that full either. In Paris, every morning session and every evening session was full. This is what I am going to remember the most when I think of Paris.
Does the crowd really have an impact on your energy when you are on the starting blocks?
It does, especially when it gets so loud, with 75,000 people screaming at the same time, it gives me such a boost of adrenalin.
How does it feel running for Switzerland under the red and white flag?
It's so nice because the whole year we just run for ourselves and our personal brands. And then at the Olympics or at the championships, you run with the little Swiss flag on your T-shirt. So, it’s different because you represent yourself, but also your country and so many people are watching. For me, it's something I have always liked a lot and you feel so patriotic.
You also competed in the relay. How do you like competing in a team?
It is nice to come together, train together, and compete together. And it's also special when you achieve something great and celebrate as a team. But on the other side, if things go wrong, it goes wrong for the whole team, not just for yourself. But in the good moments, it's really something which I enjoy a lot. Also, the whole warm-up and the whole preparation for the relay are different. It is also fun for the spectators as there is so much going on.
How intensive is your training?
I think the biggest thing that people maybe don't realize is that we don’t train more, we just try to train smarter every year. It is not always more is more, sometimes less is more. We try to find the perfect training, the perfect high intensity, while also trying not to do too much. So, you're just in this perfect shape where you are recovered enough, but you are still ready enough to run fast. It's not always the quantity but the quality.
What would people be most surprised to learn about your career as a professional sprinter?
I think many people don't realize that sprinters don’t actually train that much. We don't do a lot of laps, or run for 20, 30 minutes. We just do really intense training. So, when you see what we do on paper, it doesn't look like that much. We have maybe two races a day where we have to be at 100%. So, we train for 11 seconds maximum twice a day. It is a completely different training than, for example, when you do long distance.
We also do overspeed training, for example, where we have this machine that pulls you so you can run faster than you usually could go. Before the World Championships Indoors 2022, I did a training where I just ran three times 50 metres. That was my training, but I was dead for four days afterwards as you run so fast that it is harder on your nervous system than on your body. It has a completely different impact on you because you train at a super high intensity. We have more in common with shot putters than runners because it is shorter and more intense.
What’s the next goal for you?
I don’t have a specific goal; I just want to run faster, get a better personal best, and then win some more medals. I've achieved so much in my career, a lot more than I could ever have expected, so I just want to see where I can go! I definitely want to do another Olympics, if everything goes well.
How important are your sponsors like Hublot?
For me, it's really important just to have the right people behind me, because like we discussed before, track and field is a single sport, but it still takes a whole team and all the support you can get, so I’m really happy to have this partnership with Hublot, it is something which is really important to me.
What watch are you wearing?
I'm wearing the new Classic Fusion 29mm with diamonds that just came out this year. I love to wear jewellery in competitions, so this watch is perfect. I was wearing this very model when I won my gold medal at the European Championships and I wore it in the Olympic finals, so it has done some nice things with me and has become my lucky charm.
