Did you know that an Olympian is studying with us at the faculty?
Track and field athlete Marike Steinacker attended the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year and placed 8th in the finals in the discus throw. We are proud and congratulate her on this great success!
As a competitive athlete, how do you manage to balance your studies and sports? How often do you have to train? What does the everyday life of an athlete look like? And what will she do after her degree? - We asked Marike all these questions and got a glimpse into her life and how she deals with the double burden of studies and sports.
She started track and field at the age of 12. After achieving many successes at the national level in her youth and junior years, Marike had attended the World Student Championships in 2015 and finished second - her second major international success after her participation in the Olympics. At that time, she was still working part-time, so she was able to balance her 8-9 weekly training sessions well with work.
In the winter semester of 2015, she began studying design engineering fashion at the university. Starting her studies presented her with new challenges - performance training and studies are not as easy to balance as perhaps expected. But being able or allowed to study fashion design has always been her biggest dream! Fashion and especially creativity were or are, besides sports, her greatest passions. At first, she focused mainly on her studies and put sports on the back burner. She took part in all the written examinations and handed in all the portfolios - looking back, she has to admit, it was extreme what she put herself through.
"With the double burden - studies and sports - you're kind of alone among all the students, but nevertheless I met friends here who are still with me today."
Her everyday life was scheduled and determined by training and studies. Her day began at 5 a.m. After a two and a half hour drive to Mönchengladbach and various lectures, training took place in the evening - only once a day during her studies.
However, lectures such as creativity theory, color theory, form theory or nude and model drawing gave her so much fun and motivated her that she gladly accepted the long journey and the stress. After the 6th semester - she had already completed 70% of all modules at this point - she wanted to know it again and put all her energy and time into sports. Now the studies came second.
Her biggest supporter during the whole time of studies was and is Prof. Karin Stark. She has always been considerate regarding her training, competitions or training camps and has made everything impossible possible for her.
Currently she is writing her Bachelor's thesis with the topic - "Presentation wear at the Summer Olympic Games from the 21st century". The thesis refers to the outfit in which the German athletes* enter the stadium at the opening ceremony - btw: The running into the stadium is also called the biggest fashion show in the world.
Her goal is to design the presentation wear for 2024 for the already confirmed supplier (adidas). After her degree, she definitely wants to stay in the sports industry and is currently planning her internship semester - also at adidas. As there will be two more major championships next year, in which she would like to participate, she will start her internship directly afterwards.
She does not exclude the possibility of participating in the Olympic Games again. On the one hand it was a very exhausting but also incredibly exciting and unforgettable time in Tokyo. And who knows... maybe she will enter the stadium in her self-designed outfit at the opening ceremony in 2024. We would wish it to her! We are keeping our fingers crossed for all her future championships and her career path and wish her all the best in everything!
"Finally, I want to express my gratitude once again to everyone who supported me during my studies and made everything possible. I love my studies and will have very fond memories of the entire time here. It was - besides the experience at the Olympics - one of the best times."
