Betti Buchmiller is 19 years old and will represent the German team at this year’s World Championship. She started in Taekwon-Do when she was 9 years old although that was not to her mother’s “plan”. “My mom always tried to get me to dance when I was younger, so she made me go to an open house at a gym not far from where we live. When I got there I looked to the right and saw dancers, I looked to the left and I saw more dancers, but what really stood out to me was the HUGE dojang in front of me. I obviously never became the dancer my mother wanted.”
He started competing at the age of 10 and from then on he participated in local and national German competitions. “Four years ago I started training with German-ITF and they gave me the chance to go to international competitions and prove myself. I started competing all over Europe, like Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Belgium and more. My first and last biggest competition before Covid-19 was the European Championships in Ireland in 2019.”
How was your personal preparation for this ITF World Championship?
It has been well! I have been training a lot and I am also much better mentally than in 2019 before the Euro. I am very lucky to have my coaches Gérard and Iris Galinski who have been supporting me since day one and have not left my side since. Of course, there have been ups and downs during the preparations, I suffered from Covid twice but recovered well. So all in all it’s been a fun ride!
What topics in your daily life change before a competition?
A lot changes before big competitions. I think the biggest change in my day to day is that I don’t have as much free time. I have two jobs, which also takes up a lot of my time. So I can’t see my family as much as I would like, but they have always been very supportive in my Taekwon-Do career. I truly believe that going through the process of being an athlete and preparing for a big event changes your daily life and makes you appreciate it so much more.
Betti Buchmiller says that she loves music, “you will never see me without my headphones”, and they are a great ally just before entering the competition. She also has another ritual the night before, “I also eat pasta every night before a competition and I make the whole team eat it with me. I don’t know where that comes from though.”
What is your goal for this ITF World Championship?
I’m definitely going for the gold! But I’m also looking forward to meeting my friends, making new friends, having fun, getting together and making great memories. We all need to enjoy this moment because we can never relive it again. There is only that moment and we have to do our best, I can’t wait!