Lena Dürr (GER) is one of the most promising young racers in the German ski team. However, the young Fischer athlete also has other important things in life. The priorities? Family and school. Free time? Unheard of. The daily routine of the racer with World Cup experience may appear to be monotonous to some people, but the girl from Germering near Munich leads a very exciting life. Besides being a student at the local school she also skis - and she is pretty good at it, too!
Lena Dürr first drew real attention to herself last season. She was in fact still in the Europa Cup group of the German ski team but also managed to finish among the top 30 three times in the World Cup. She also even finished in ninth place in one race. The highlight for Lena, however, is victory in the over Europa Cup ranking. "Because that means you have to be consistent throughout the whole season," says the 20-year-old who, despite her achievements, remains modest.
School paves the way for success
The road to success is long and arduous. And Lena also has to cope with school stress. School still has to have top priority one year before taking her German Abitur. Because if anything goes wrong there, the student will have to hit the books again instead of heading out for the hills. Her teachers are very understanding when it comes to her sporting activities, but she still has to make sure her grades are OK. This means that quite unlike her professional colleagues in the ski team, Lena cannot devote all of her time to training. "Normally there are three training sessions a day on a fitness plan. But I can only do one of them because of school. Having said that, my fitness coach tunes these sessions to my requirements. Of course I do notice on particularly long runs that I lack some strength," says Lena, acknowledging her shortcomings. However, her coolness more than makes up for them. "My biggest advantage is that I am not nervous before the start of a race. I simply put into practice what has become automatic in training."
Family person: born with skis on
Lena perfected her excellent technique while she was still a child. Her father Peter taught the two-year-old Lena how to ski and then also became her trainer later on. That was until she turned professional, just like her elder and successful sister Kathi, and her career really took off. International junior races in Whistler Mountain (CAN) and Topolino (ITA) were the rewards for the good national results.
These days, Lena's parents concentrate on the management of their daughters' activities. This includes keeping an eagle eye on making sure that Lena does not neglect her school work. Because such a successful family knows that things can change again very quickly. And if things do not run as smoothly as they should at some point, there is certainly no peer pressure within the family unit: "I'm always happy when Kathi has good World Cup results. And I also have a younger sister as well - Franzi. She has a lot of potential!"
Winter wonderland at Christmas on the farm
Despite all the stress Lena still finds time to relax together with her parents and her two sisters from time to time. New Year, for example, is spent at the family's second home, a farm. "I often went skiing to Westendorf or Brixen (AUT) when I was a child." And this is where Lena also spends some days at Christmas and the New Year. She has snow right on her doorstep and besides the excellent snow training she can also enjoy the wintry Christmas festivities. A celebration that would be hard for her to imagine without the snow.
