In addition, they were still in the exam stress …
Nolan Seegert: Yes, that was added. The semester at the university is over and I just had my last exams. But that’s done now.
What has happened in the last four weeks between the Olympics so far?
Nolan Seegert: We needed a few days to ourselves after our return. I then did another medical check to see if everything was ok. Then we slowly started training again and tried to tackle the physical weaknesses.
Minerva rabbit: I got another vaccination. It was important to just come back and find a rhythm. It wasn’t that easy at first. It’s getting easier now.
Many of your friends and colleagues from Russia and Belarus are excluded from the World Championships. What do you think of this decision?
Nolan Seegert: That is an incredibly difficult question. On the one hand, one wonders what the athletes can do about it. On the other hand, this war of aggression is of course not possible at all and must be absolutely condemned. I am very conflicted. It is very difficult to make a clear judgement.
Minerva rabbit: I don’t think it’s a decision against the athletes. The whole hustle and bustle should be stopped and shown how wrong it is what is going on there. Of course, this is very bitter for the Russian athletes, even if they can’t help it. Ultimately, it should be a measure against the country.
From a sporting point of view, this means for the World Cup that the top 5 in pairs are missing because China will not be there either. Their top couples were in quarantine for three weeks. Is that an extra motivation?
Nolan Seegert: On the one hand, yes, because it makes the World Championships interesting in a different way. There’s a fresh wind in it. But we didn’t set our expectations too high after the Olympics. Giving out rankings has never worked so well. We rode best when we were trying to do our thing. Our motivation comes from wanting to do better than the Olympics to end the season on a good footing.
Have you changed anything else in your program?
Minerva rabbit: No. There wasn’t even time for that. The focus was on fitness. The short program will work, but it could be more difficult in the freestyle. You need more time for that. That’s why it’s difficult for us to assess how things will be on site. Of course we want to show two great programs. But there wasn’t that much time to prepare.
After the season you wanted to decide what to do next. Well, you’ve had a lot of bad luck in the last few weeks when you were actually at your personal peak. Have you already made a decision for yourself?
Nolan Seegert: No. We haven’t tackled the issue yet. We stick to what we said before the season. First we run to the end, then take a little distance so as not to make decisions based on emotion. This should be done in a completely neutral way.
The interview was conducted by sports show commentator Daniel Weiss.