Yuliana Salakohova | www.salakhova.ru - Andreas Ihle (born June 2, 1979 in Bad Dürrenberg, Saxony-Anhalt) is a German sprint canoer who has competed since 1997. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won three medals with a gold (K2 1000m: 2008), a silver (K4 1000m: 2004) and a bronze (K2 1000m: 2012). Sportscene Contributor Yuliana Salakhova asked Andreas a few questions.

Did you have idols in your childhood?
Not really, perhaps the former K2 Blum-Gutsche.

What is the most important part of the distance for you during the race?
"There are 3 important parts: an acceptable start – an effective/ economical medium race part – a strong finish."

Most athletes are ready to do anything for the sake of victory. What are you ready to sacrifice for the sake of a gold medal?
I’m ready to sacrifice my weekly free time, I eat and live healthy. I’m ready to train hard. I’m ready to stay away from home nearly the whole year.

Where do you think is the best canoe venue in the World?
There are some good canoe venues. Unfortunately all venues are not as good as they could be when there are bad weather conditions…

How and where do you train during the winter period? Which place do you like most of all?
During the winter I like to train in the USA, if I have no lust on those time differences I train perhaps in Portugal. There are some more good and warm places for training in Europe during the winter but I’m sure I know not all good places…

Who do you think is your strongest rival in the forthcoming season?
There are some rivals, the Hungarians, the Portuguese, the Russians, Australians and 2 or 3 more teams.

What kind of sports do you like? What kind of sports have you gone in for before you started your career in canoeing?
I like to watch all kinds of sport on TV, there is nothing special. I like swimming in the winter training and I like crossfit for example (but I didn’t try this so far).

What do you think about the crew boats? Do you prefer to compete in crew boats or in K1?
K1 for example is important for a good crew boat achievement. I like to compete in the K1 but I got my greatest successes in crew boats…

What qualities bring success in professional sport?
Iron will, hard and clean training and competitions, “fighting spirit”, deprivations - less free time for family and friends, discipline, but also time for body and mental regeneration.

Have you ever had unsuccessful races in your life? How did you manage to recover from such races?
Yes I have. Every canoeist has unsuccessful races, not only if you lose even if something is going the way you don’t want for example a time or technical differences while paddling or a development during body training or an accident or disease.

You have to be mentally strong, you have to believe in what you’re able to do. And sometimes you have to believe in reaching something you’ve never done before. Try first then judge …

Have you ever wished to quit the sport? What is the reason?
At some points in a sport career nearly all sportsmen wished that they could quit what they like most – their sport. For example if you are slow, feel bad, if you don’t reach your personal or your coach’s or teammates’ goals.

What would you like to do after you quit professional sport?
I’ll be trying to keep on canoeing and I’ll be trying to stay fit and healthy (perhaps I try crossfit?) ;-)

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