Roger Haraldsson
Say hello to Sara ✋ and send her huge congratulations. Sara won the gold medal at the recent World Kettlebell Sport Championship in Portugal.
Congratulations on the gold medal!
– Thanks!
Of course, I have to ask how it feels to hold a World Cup Gold medal in your hand?
– It feels great! To see all the hard work put into training and preparing for this paying off is the best feeling.
Tell me about your World Championship win?
– I competed in 10’ TALC (also known as clean and jerk for non-kettlebell lifters), so it’s a Two-Arm Long Cycle with 2x20kg, so two kettlebells, one in each hand weighing 20kg each doing as many repetitions as possible for 10 minutes.
I did 64 reps, which was enough to win the gold. It was an amazing thing, especially after winning gold at the Europeans 2021.
Was there a moment when you were lifting and knew you’d already won?
– No, actually not. I was so focused on my own lifting I wasn’t sure how my opponents were doing. It all came as a huge surprise when I found out!
Did you set the goal to win the world championships, after the European win?
– No I did not. The goal was to lift the best I could and give everything I had on the platform. Since it was the world championships with so many great lifters I set a goal of performance rather than placement.
It’s really an extreme thing to lift weights non-stop for 10 minutes without putting them down. Is the biggest battle — fighting the ‘why am I doing this’ question in your mind?
– Yes it’s an extreme sport - and it’s a real mental battle. In kettlebell sport, minute five to minute eight are the hardest minutes because you’ve been lifting for so long, your heart rate is so high, It’s a high-pressure thing.
Do you have a game plan to manage that?
– Well, that’s what all the training is for. I know when I hit that wall of wanting to put the bells down around minute seven, there is always something positive to focus on. There are only a few minutes left, the technique is still in place and I am breathing. As long as I keep breathing there are always a few more reps.
How often do you train?
– Usually about five days a week with a mix of lifting and cardio.
How did you get started in the sport?
– I found Kettlebell Sport through group training at a gym. I liked it immediately and especially how all the techniques challenged my mind at the same time as my body got exhausted.
What’s your next target?
– For now, I’m taking a few weeks off training to try to figure that one out, so we’ll see.
What are Kettlebells?
– Kettlebell looks like a cannonball with a handle on top. They come in a variety of colors, which represent their weight. Kettlebells can be used in many different exercises. It is a relatively small sport but the short description of it would be endurance weightlifting since we do as many lifts (repetitions) as possible for 10 minutes without putting the bells down.
Why Kettlebell?
– It’s a great sport! It requires a lot of training, but you develop power endurance, coordination, and strength just to mention a few things.
All Netadmins are so proud of you and we wish you good luck in future competitions!
–Thanks! 😊