Krzysztof Biegun was once considered one of the greatest talents in ski jumping. The Pole also worked as a driver for a while. A double burden that had serious consequences, as the ex-winter athlete explained in an interview.
In 2013, Krzysztof Biegun surprisingly won the World Cup opener in Klingenthal. The 28-year-old has now ended his career in ski jumping. At times, Biegun also worked as a driver alongside his career as a winter sports enthusiast. A tough burden for the young athlete.
“Often I’d set out on a Friday afternoon tour after five days of jumping and sawing and wouldn’t return until late Sunday evening, sleeping in a parking lot for 40 minutes or an hour in the meantime,” quoted “Przeglad Sportowy Onet” the ex-ski jumper from the book “Za punkt K”.
After “six months of such a life,” Biegun came to Hakuba for a competition. “So you can imagine how exhausted I must have been,” he said of the stress.
Biegen ends his active career in ski jumping
The high level of stress and exhaustion ultimately even led to hallucinations in the former ski jumper. “Once I slammed on the brakes because I was convinced I saw a moose on the road. Of course it wasn’t there,” confessed Biegun: “Then I stopped and said: ‘I’m not going any further, no chance. I have to to rest.’ The moose story made me realize I had to change that.”
Meanwhile, Biegun, who works as a coach, is doing better. “I certainly don’t lack adrenaline and emotions, because as a coach I experience them too. Retiring from my career made my life calmer. When I finished jumping, I started to sleep normally. That had never happened to me before : I often couldn’t sleep for the blink of an eye, I was worried, stressed or even irritable,” he explained.