As a top biathlete, Uschi Disl loved speed. That has now changed drastically – which also affects their driving behavior.
As an athlete, reaching the finish line quickly was always Uschi Disl’s top priority. The former biathlete was nicknamed “Turbo-Disl” primarily because of her tireless efforts on the cross-country ski trails and became one of the most popular German athletes in the 90s and 2000s.
Two decades later, the nine-time Olympic medalist and eight-time world champion is taking things much easier. She now lives with her husband, the Swedish ski technician Thomas Söderberg, and their two children on an old farm in the town of Mora, with a population of 10,000, and enjoys the slower pace of life there.
Disl’s decelerated life in Sweden
“We live a bit in the country and it’s much quieter there,” the Bavarian native reveals to t-online. Of course, this is also “the biggest difference” to her previous life as a professional biathlete with thousands of kilometers of travel per year.
Uschi Disl
The Bavarian native became an institution in the Biathlon World Cup between 1990 and 2006. With two gold, four silver and three bronze medals, she is one of the most successful German Winter Olympians. Today she lives with her family in Mora, Sweden, and is an expert on Swedish radio.
“People are a little more relaxed, which is also because they simply have more space here in central Sweden,” explains Disl. This is also one of the main differences compared to Germany – which is particularly noticeable when it comes to getting around.
“There is significantly less traffic here – I really realize that when I drive on the motorway in Germany. I no longer like driving on the German motorway because there is so much crowding, there is so much traffic, so many trucks – “We don’t even know that here in Sweden,” explains the 53-year-old with a smile.
She also adds an example: “A few years ago on a Monday at half past seven in the morning I was on my way to the airport. About 30 kilometers from the airport I drove onto the highway and took a photo – the road was about a kilometer there straight and there wasn’t a single car to be seen in either lane. There’s nothing like that anywhere in Germany on a normal Monday morning.” So it’s no wonder that Disl is a bit strange with the volume of traffic here.