Erika Rosa Kälin is an athlete, has already participated in numerous competitions such as the Special Olympics and won many medals. Erika is virtually blind, but the 53-year-old is still faster on cross-country skis or on a bike than most people without impairments. One of the highlights for her was participating in the 2017 World Winter Games in Schladming. And: Erika loves to inspire other people to exercise as well.
I think it's great to show that you can make a lot of things happen even with multiple impairments.
What does sport mean to you?
It means a lot of quality of life for me, because if I couldn't do sports, I would be much worse physically. Because I have a multiple impairment, a slight scoliosis and a pelvic depression, it's like therapy for me.
It's good for your body, but it's also good for your soul.
Exactly. Psychologically, you stay much better in balance and you are much more balanced. I'm used to moving around - I grew up on a farm. My parents took me to the barn early on to see the animals and also to the forest when we went logging in the winter or in the summer to make hay or to the alpine pastures. Movement was always important for me in life.
It's fascinating that all this is possible. In sports, you trust your feeling, your fifth and maybe even sixth sense. How is such a cross country run possible?
For example, when we are in the forest, I notice the smells. The moss smells special or also mushrooms or flowers. And every season smells a little different.
That means that gives you then also a feeling or information about the surface on which you run?
Even when the weather changes, I can smell what's coming. You can smell the smell of the leaves falling from the trees or when the wood has been freshly cut.
It's very fascinating that all these sporting successes are possible, including peak performances of a physical nature. Earlier I saw this photo of you lifting an incredible amount of weights. How is that possible? Is it that will? Or that you love movement so much?
It's both the love of movement and also the will that I can achieve something. It's good for self-confidence. Sport gives me tremendous self-confidence and also strength to keep myself in balance. And that also helps me for life and that I can cope better.
Sport gives me confidence and strength to keep myself in balance.
Sport gives me confidence and strength to keep myself in balance.
You also support and inspire other athletes.
Yes, in Schaffhausen there was a little girl, about eight nine years old. And the mother says she has always been in a wheelchair. She could hardly walk, only at home 100 meters alone on foot.
And last year we were in Schaffhausen at the Städtle run at the beginning of September 2022. There she was also at the start, there was a Special Olympics category. And her mother said before the start: If you don't make it, I can push you along in the wheelchair. But the nice thing was: the course was 1.4 kilometers long and she made it all by herself on foot. And she had fun doing it. She said that she saw me before the start, that she ran after us, and so she made it to the end.
What are some current projects you want to tell me about?
At the beginning of May we have a project called Weitblick, organized by a man who is also almost blind and had a retinal detachment. In this project we walk from Basel to Visp in different stages. And with these events we collect money. The money goes to the audio book library. Many audio books are still on old cassettes or sound carriers and also the licenses are partly outdated.
I myself sell greeting cards that I embroider myself. Because I have severe myopia, I embroider with a magnifying glass. With a part of the proceeds I support this project of audio books libraries. And with the other part I support people with impairments or colleagues in my environment who have impairments so that they can participate in sports events. Next year, the national Winter Games will be held in Gadmen in the Bernese Oberland. There I also want to support five friends and take them with me. So that we can take part in cross-country skiing together. And with the proceeds from my greeting cards I will pay the entry fee and food and accommodation.
If you could send a message to all athletes in the world, what would it be?
Just be positive, don't let it get you down, try to stay in balance and do your own thing. Make the best of it. That's also my motto in life. And the belief in yourself.
In the summer we will go to the World Summer Games in Berlin as volunteers. Because as a volunteer you can also pass on a lot.
In the summer we will go to the World Summer Games in Berlin as volunteers. Because as a volunteer you can also pass on a lot.
Erika is almost blind. Nevertheless, she takes part in competitions, including competitions in which people with and without impairments compete against each other. Together with her guide and life partner Reinhart Schütz, she has already competed in the Special Olympics World Winter Games and the National Games in the summer, on cross-country skis and on her own bike rather than on a tandem. "I trust my instincts," Erika explains. And what's more, she trusts her guide completely. And: every hurdle and challenge pushes her further.
