Mareike Adermann: How my time flies

The German wheelchair basketball player talks about returning home for the first time since London 2012 11 Dec 2012

Mareike Adermann won gold in the women's wheelchair basketball competition in London

ⒸMareike Adermann

By IPC

"The competition in our league is always tough as most teams feature current Paralympians and train daily. Nothing comes easy and rivalry is huge. It is an environment that any athlete dreams of."

Three months ago, I was sprinting to the airport as I had overslept at the end of the Paralympics and was trying not to miss my flight to return to the US. Luckily, I made my flight but it did not allow me any time to really say goodbye to London and the Paralympic Village.

Sometimes the time goes by very slowly but this year has been one of the fastest of my life. It may be because I was able to accomplish so much, it may be because I have overslept so many times, or it might simply be one of those mistaken feelings; but no matter what, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to many more of these years because it was an amazing and fun experience.

Recently, I was able to continue with the sport. In November, my team, the UWW Warhawks, and I had the first games of our season. We played the Universities of Illinois and Arizona on our home court, a great privilege that I enjoyed because we received huge support from friends, families, the community and our university. For two full days, all of our games were attended by 100-300 spectators – numbers that are very rare in wheelchair basketball.

Now, two weeks before Christmas, it is time to focus on completing my second last semester and then pack to return to my home in Germany for the first time since the Paralympics. Unlike most medal winners, I was not yet able to show most of my friends or family what I have won. Since I returned to my university in the United States right from London, I can now look forward to sharing all of my experiences at Christmas.

After Christmas, I am looking forward to the main part of our season. We will play about 20 games in 12 weeks and fight to defend our National Championship – a task that keeps the fire in me burning.

The competition in our league is always tough as most teams feature current Paralympians and train daily. Nothing comes easy and rivalry is huge. It is an environment that any athlete dreams of.

Thank you to all of you that read my blogs, it is great to have your support and I enjoy being able to share my experiences with you.