On Christmas morning, we meet Sarina online for a joint interview – she is currently spending the festive season with her family in Valais. Together they are celebrating, enjoying good food and, of course, hitting the slopes in Grächen.
The 28-year-old is still on cloud nine, as she tells us herself. And with good reason: in November, she won the world kickboxing title in Abu Dhabi. The greatest success of her career so far.
Extreme discipline and perseverance have taken the Valais native to the top in just eight years. Kickboxing was more of a ‘coincidental match’, as Sarina explains:
‘I moved from St. Niklaus to Sion. After doing gymnastics in Grächen, I was looking for a new hobby. Between dancing and kickboxing, I ultimately decided on the latter.’
Ten years ago, Sarina moved to Bern. Initially, she continued to train in Valais, but six years ago she also changed clubs in her new home and joined the first competition group. Her first opportunity came quickly, and soon the then 22-year-old was standing on the tatami.
‘My coaches and I quickly realised that I was good at the sport.’ However, she owes her success to much more than just her talent.
Sarina trains at the club five times a week, in addition to rigorous strength and endurance training and mental support. Although the sport takes up a lot of her time, it is fundamental to her: ‘I find it difficult to sit still; regeneration is always the hardest part for me,’ she admits with a smile.
It was above all Sarina's fighting spirit and her love of kickboxing that earned her not only the world championship title but also five World Cup victories. She never had any doubts about her path – not even last year, when her injury put her patience to the test:
"I tore my cruciate ligament during training. I had to have surgery and was out of action. Once the injury had healed, my first competition came around pretty quickly – the World Cup in Budapest. I didn't win gold, but I was able to prove to myself that I was back to exactly the same level physically. That was a huge relief and motivation for me."
Kickboxing is Sarina's passion, but it doesn't earn her any money. It's not popular enough for the world champion to make a living from her passion. She works 80 per cent as a graphic designer and only completed her studies this summer. She enjoys her job, but regrets the lack of recognition for the enormous effort and sweat that goes into it:
‘I don't kickbox for the money, but because I really enjoy it. Still, it would be nice if I could focus more on it and not always have to worry about the financial side of things. That also involves constantly looking for sponsors.’
When you think of kickboxing, images of brutal fights, punches and injuries quickly come to mind. Sarina contradicts this and deliberately questions the image of the sport: ‘The sport itself is extremely technical and tactical – it's not just about throwing punches.’ She says that everyone treats each other with respect and the scene is cool. She has also grown through the sport and learned discipline for all areas of life.
Despite having secured the world championship title, Sarina remains in the game – or rather, in the ring. After a few relaxing days in Valais, she will resume training immediately and switch from light contact to full contact kickboxing. Her main goal for the season is to win gold at the European Championships in Skopje. For the future, she hopes above all for more visibility and support for the sport – so that young people can also get excited about it.
Grächen is keeping its fingers crossed for Sarina and wishes her all the best for the future, both in and outside of kickboxing!
