www.espacetriathlon.com has been supporting Nora Meister since this autumn. Nora is a multiple European champion and Paralympic medalist in para swimming, training with the brand Akron. We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions to get to know her better and gain some insight into her everyday life as an elite athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To start with, could you briefly introduce yourself to our audience, especially those who may not know you yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name is Nora Meister and I am a para swimmer. My journey began with the dream of one day competing at the Paralympic Games. Since then, I have competed in Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024, where I won a bronze medal and then a silver medal in my main event, the 400m freestyle. I am now preparing for the next Games in LA 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How did you get into swimming, and what motivated you to keep going and aim for higher goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a child, I tried out different sports. Swimming was the one I enjoyed most. At the age of 8, I first learned about the Paralympics, and I was already spending time in the water regularly. At 10, I joined a swimming club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My passion for sport, being in the water and swimming itself is what drives me forward. I always want to keep improving, and I find the journey towards achieving a goal very rewarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does a \u201cnormal\u201d day in the life of an elite swimmer look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A typical day starts with a swimming session. Afterwards, I head to the University of Teacher Education for seminars. I particularly enjoy being able to go home briefly around lunchtime to eat and take a short nap. In the afternoon, I usually have another seminar or a study session. In the evening, it’s back into the pool for another training session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Has there been a person or an encounter that has played a particularly important role in your journey so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I started my sporting career, Chantal Cavin was Switzerland’s leading para swimmer. She competed in Athens, Beijing and London, making her a great role model for me. A few years later, she became a good friend and supported me by sharing her experience and helping me along the way. Even today, she remains a role model to me, not only as an athlete but also as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What has been the most defining moment of your career so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have very fond memories of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. My family was there, and the most special part was being able to share my silver medal with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elite sport requires many sacrifices and compromises. What challenges or limitations do you face in your everyday life as a high-performance athlete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest challenge is managing to balance everything. By everything, I mean my studies, training, competitions, presentations, interviews, school projects, looking for sponsors, social media, advertising, speeches, financial matters, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What definitely helps is that I genuinely enjoy doing most of these things! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are your next sporting goals? Is there a particular challenge you are determined to achieve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My next major goal is LA 28, where I would like to complete my Paralympic medal collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What message would you give to someone who wants to start swimming but is still hesitating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just go for it! When you are truly passionate about something, you can usually find a way to make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an elite athlete, what criteria do you consider when choosing your swimming equipment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I particularly like swimming equipment that is comfortable while also being a little stylish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
www.espacetriathlon.com has been supporting Nora Meister since this autumn. Nora is a multiple European champion and Paralympic medalist in para swimming, training with the brand Akron. We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions to get to know her better and gain some insight into her everyday life as an elite athlete. To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3002],"tags":[],"guide_topic":[],"guide_brand":[],"class_list":["post-75559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75561,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75559\/revisions\/75561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75559"},{"taxonomy":"guide_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide_topic?post=75559"},{"taxonomy":"guide_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/espacetriathlon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide_brand?post=75559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}