– Personally, I have developed more in the last three months than I have in the last year, says Felix Baldauf. – The mood in the group has never been better than it is now, says Exauce Mukubu. SELF-CONFIDENT: Exauce Mukubu competes for EC gold in the U23 EC in Romania on Wednesday. He believes he has never been in a better place than now. Photo: Espen Langeveld / news The two wrestlers are big profiles in the news series “Hodet i klemme” and have had a fantastic start to the season. As the first Norwegians in history, they took gold in the prestigious World Cup tournament Dan Kolov Nikola Petrov in their classes early in March. It happens after a troubled end to the previous season with grumbling between athletes and coaches, which even resulted in Fritz Aanes and Stig-Andre Berge resigning from their positions as national team coaches. In a longer interview with news, Fritz Aanes said that he “feared that everything I have built up will crumble into rubble” with a new coaching team. Now he gets straight answers from his former students. – Missing nothing – The whole group thinks it’s cool to do wrestling again instead of everyone walking around and being mad at each other and being bored. I think the system we have now is so good that we will win medals in the EC, WC and Olympics, that is, says Felix Baldauf. PROFILE: Felix Baldauf, who competes in the 97 kilo class. Photo: Espen Eichhöfer Exauce Mukubu, who broke the final in the U23 European Championship on Wednesday, is not worried about things falling apart and counters with: – We are pretty much in agreement when we say: “What were we actually talking about before ?” It’s not how it should be. The many who have sat down and said: “okay, that’s how you do it” now. Fritz Aanes has heard the comments of his former students and does not wish to comment on the matter. When asked if there is anything he misses about the old regime with Aanes and Berge, Baldauf replies: – No, I miss nothing. I miss Fritz and Stig in my life, but I don’t miss the system we had, I don’t, says Baldauf, who emphasizes that the relationship today is good and that they have everything right. The new coaching team now consists of sporting director Thor Hyllegaard and the Danish national team coach Szymon Kogut. They work with Pål-Eirik Gundersen, who is assistant coach. – Shut up and sit down Mukubu, there seems to be a big difference from the old to the new coaching system. – You have more quality training than quantity. The work we put in is less, but the quality is incredibly much better. There have never been so many athletes who have won so many matches so early in the season, so I would say that things look good for the coming season, says Mukubu. LOOKING FORWARD: Exauce Mukubu Photo: Helene Mariussen / news Baldauf admits that he was skeptical of the new Danish coaching team and called them “digital coaches” because they could not be present in Oslo at all times, but after a fantastic start to the season, he has turned around. – There are absolutely enormously good trainers, that is. The collaboration and group dynamics we have, it’s absolutely incredible. It’s a whole new existence, actually. He now believes he has been given a long-awaited freedom in his training compared to previous years. – You had no freedom and you had to follow the plan. Wrestling became all-consuming and there was only focus on wrestling, even in private life. One had no ownership over the wrestling and the training and almost life. One felt like a machine at times following orders. Baldauf gets support from his teammate Mukubu. – In the past, he only got scolded and was blamed for skipping out on training when it was his body that told him to stop. Now there is room to say when you are in pain and you can adapt the training sessions. Before it was just like this: “No, shut up, sit down and do what you have to do, that’s how you become a master”. Should end the collaboration before The two wrestling stars are now in a season with big ambitions. Mukubu expects to take gold in the U23 and senior European Championships which are in three weeks. In autumn, the highlight of the season awaits with the WC in Serbia. – I want to win the EC and for the WC I have a goal of finishing in the top five. Then I get an Olympic ticket. Then I can say I am very satisfied and then I can continue working towards the Olympics, says Mukubu. WON GOLD: Exauce Mukubu won WC gold in U23 last autumn in the weight class 82 kilos. Photo: Fritz Aanes – I have actually decided that I will take a medal in the EC as a small milestone now. It will be an important confidence boost towards the World Cup in the autumn, says Baldauf, who was European champion in 2017. Mukubu has never seen a brighter future and believes that the arrow could have turned earlier if the coaching team had been replaced earlier. – I actually want to believe it. If things had been done differently several years ago, when some of these problems had appeared, at least two would have qualified for the Olympics in my eyes, says Mukubu. For the U23 EC, the profile has replaced the king’s crown with a viking helmet, which will be used if gold is won. – I bring the Viking helmet to show that we will put Norway on the map. The Vikings are back, says Mukubu.
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Felix Baldauf and Exauce Mukubu fight back against Fritz Aanes – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
