Nora Jäggi | Born 1995 | Basel
Nora Jäggi is no unknown name in competitive weightlifting in Switzerland.
Nora started weightlifting around four years ago through the increasingly popular sport of CrossFit. She practiced both sports at the same time and decided to focus entirely on weightlifting at the beginning of 2018.
When she's not lifting heavy weights, Nora is studying at the Teacher Training College in Muttenz and is training to be a primary school teacher. She has already completed four semesters and all her internships and will have completed her studies in 1.5-2 years.
The Road to Weightlifting
After just four months of CrossFit, Nora took part in the Swiss Powerlifting Championships and delivered an astonishing performance. At just 19 years old, she reached 207.5kg in the deadlift. As a newly qualified CrossFit all-rounder, she also started weightlifting and was eventually encouraged by her coach to take part in weightlifting competitions. She became more and more interested in strength training rather than endurance training. Due to stagnating performance and the goal of taking part in the World Championships, Nora decided to distance herself from CrossFit after a few years and focus all her energy on weightlifting.
Weightlifting instead of powerlifting
In weightlifting, technique, timing and explosiveness have to be just right. In powerlifting, on the other hand, pure strength and mobility are the deciding factors. It is this greater challenge that makes weightlifting so interesting for Nora.
The World Cup is in three weeks
Although her last competitions were very positive, Nora is feeling a certain amount of nervousness as well as excitement. A positive attitude and awareness of past successes and possible achievements mean that Nora is confident about the last few days before the World Championships.
Preparing for the World Cup
Since the beginning of 2018, Nora has only been doing weightlifting and following a program that is tailored to her personally. This gives her confidence and motivation to train more, which in turn has led to more progress in the last few months.
Having moved away from the idea of "competition day", which used to cause her increasing stress, she now concentrates much more on individual training sessions. She carries out each training session as well as possible and gives 100%. By trusting in her program, her coach and her willingness to perform, her long-term goal of "world championship" is not jeopardized even if the training day is not so good and therefore no longer causes her any worries. Nora Jäggi trains five times a week for two hours each time.
The Greatest Successes
Nora describes her biggest goal in CrossFit very modestly when she took part in the regionals as part of the team in 2013. The level was not very high at the time, which some of us would have liked to compete in. In powerlifting, Nora has won several Swiss championship titles and the 2014 world championship in her category. In weightlifting, Nora has two bronze medals at the World Student Championships and sixth place at the 2018 European Championships.
Your biggest hurdles
Nora's biggest hurdle is the "hole" she is currently in. Due to the many competitions in the last few months and the upcoming World Championships, she has hardly had any time to recover properly. With positive thoughts, an iron will and a lot of faith in her program, Nora is facing this hurdle and the next few weeks and months will show how successfully she will be able to overcome it.
The coach as the biggest idol
In addition to a number of athletes that Nora admires, her coach Sarah Davis from England is by far her biggest idol. In addition to her many successes, she mainly admires her willingness to perform in training and the perfect technique that she can use in competitions. And she really is "really strong"!
Regeneration
Stretching, rolling out and aids such as muscle stimulators help her to work on regeneration at home. An important point for Nora is nutrition, which makes a big contribution in this direction. Getting enough sleep is a big issue and for her it depends on her studies and lecture times.
Time for hobbies
Sport currently plays a central role in Nora Jäggi's life, which is why she has given up hobbies such as playing the piano. In addition to baking and her passion for cooking, she also makes time for her boyfriend and family. It is this time that allows Nora to recover mentally and enjoy her life outside of sport and school.
The right diet
Nora Jäggi has been eating vegan for a long time. She listens to her body and has found a diet that makes her feel good and gives her the performance she needs. She also used to count macros and calories, but has stopped doing that so as not to restrict herself too much and invest too much energy and time in that direction. And if she feels like having chocolate cake, that's fine too...
Interview in
CrossFit Basel
Nora Jäggi Instagram
@wlnoerchen