Andrea Rothfuss gets serious about Sochi gold

“The gold medal is a big, big goal and dream for me.”

Germany’s Andrea Rothfuss is doing everything in her power to ensure it’s a case of third time lucky at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Rothfuss has won three silver medals and two bronze medals across the past two Paralympic Winter Games, but a gold medal is only thing on her mind for Sochi 2014.

“I have a world championships medal and also some silver and bronze medals at the Paralympic Games, so the gold medal is the only one I don’t have at the moment,” she said.

“I think mostly you say ‘OK just be a part of the Paralympic Games’ and if it’s your first time at the Games, maybe that’s the goal. But if you’re going a second or third time to the Paralympics, you don’t just want to be a part of the Games, you want to win and you want to be on the top of the podium and hear your national anthem and have a look over the crowd and just know ‘OK, the work I did the last four years was just for this moment’.

“So the gold medal is a big, big goal and dream for me.”

Rothfuss has had another successful IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup season in 2013-14, consistently stepping onto the podium. This was enough to secure her third place in the points in women’s overall World Cup.

However, she has struggled to beat her main rival, France’s six-time world champion Marie Bochet, who finished first in the overall World Cup as well as racking up the most points across all classifications amongst the women.

This competition is something that inspires Rothfuss, however.

“It helps because you always try to give your best and it’s always better you have someone and it could be more than just Marie you have to fight against, but it’s more interesting, more special to have someone you can challenge,” Rothfuss said.

“We all compete, not just for the sport itself but also for the competition.”

Rothfuss is scheduled to ski in all five events of the women’s standing programme at Sochi 2014 and says that her results in 2013-14 suggest she is well placed to add the elusive gold medal to her collection.

“For me the season has been good so far. I’ve had some good results and when we’re watching the races, or the coaches are watching the races, they’ve seen that I have good technique and have been better than last season.”

“On the road to Sochi, everything is OK and we’re on our plan.”

The alpine skiing programme at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games is scheduled to start on Saturday 8 March with the women’s downhill events.