Simona Aebersold, a 23-year-old athlete from Brügg, is already a 7-time world championship medallist in orienteering. In an interview with SWI swissinfo.ch, she explains some of the challenges of being both a student and a top athlete.
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Originally from Peking, Jie moved to Switzerland in 2003 and studied pedagogy (Bachelor Degree in Pedagogy, Master Degree in Comparative and Intercultural Pedagogy University of Fribourg). Jie have moved on to work as journalist and joined swissinfo.ch in 2011. She speaks French, German and English, covers a wide range of issues mainly in French- and German-speaking Switzerland.
Céline joined swissinfo.ch in 2018 as video journalist for the 'Nouvo in English' project, just after graduating from the Academie du journalisme et des medias (AJM) at the University of Neuchâtel. Originally from Ticino, she's been filming, writing and interviewing people all over Switzerland since she got her first reporter badge at 11 during a school camp.
Orienteering is a family tradition and just “something I’ve always done”, explains Aebersold. The athlete is starting her ninth semester this autumn after a year-long break from her studies for military service. During this time, she was away a lot for training and it wasn’t possible to study on the side. “Now, of course, I’m even more excited to start again. But clearly, sport is always the first priority for me.”
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Do athletes have to choose between university and stadium?
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One-third of Swiss athletes at the Tokyo Games were students or graduates. A support programme by Swiss Olympic helps them balance sport and study.
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