Adrian Schultheiss article

Success in Worlds at home, but after that an increasing darkness. Adrian Schultheiss is worried.

Kristoffer Berntsson and Victoria Helgesson were the big names, but it was the third of them who stole the show and entered a worlds elite he never been close to before.
The cocky, pierced and hairstyle interesting Adrian Schultheiss charmed audience as well as the judges he fictitious executed in his provocative LP in Göteborg Worlds and left Scandinavium as someone after his Easter breakthrough week.
More than six months later and the daily round faded over in grey a long time ago. Not even lunch in Scandinavium's restaurant and a look inside the arena can change that.
- I feel nothing to be back here, says Adrian who thinks of other things than yesterday and the sensational 13th in Worlds.
To get it clearly: The summer and fall for the 20 year old have been everything else but bright and the trouble began after the spring scheduled surgery of the injured left foot.
He tried the ice three weeks after the surgery, in new, hard skates, which none of the feet liked. After some more resting it went better, but not longer, and he got a new injury in his right foot, still hurting.


Depressed from time to time
- It all went wrong. I watch everything in black at the moment, explains Schultheiss, who still can't skate, has canceled a training camp in Italy and at the moment don't know when he's ready for season debut.
- I should have started already and worried I wont make it, he says troubled and tells he's been depressed from time to time and felt sad and down.
- I don't want to compete if I'm not ready for it and maybe I have to realize that this season will be crap. I've already missed two competitions and GP starts in three weeks.
It's all about time now. His new LP isn't completely drummed in and is put on ice for the presents, since Adrian's right foot refuse to wear a skate.


Sponsor silence
- I do other things - running, dancing and choreographing - but I need to practice on ice, not to lose the timing. It's tiring, Schultheiss sighs and says that he thought that the Worlds success would be more than it was – economical speaking.
- Not a single sponsor has contacted me and I think that is quite sad, the former student says (he graduated this May) who yet hasn't decided how he will handle this different rhythm and for the moment muddle along on an increased economical support from SOK (The Swedish Olympic Committee).
- I wouldn't manage without SOK's money. Sadly, I still live a low-budget life, he says and wonder what it takes to be economical interesting to others than just the closest family.
- An Euro, Worlds or Olympic Games medal, and that is what I want to reach.

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I started easy to skate since Sunday and at the moment my foot is good, so at the moment my goal is to be in okay shape to compete at USA GP.
Thou I haven't been skating for 2 weeks so it can be hard but my practice is going well at least

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Schultheiss finally back on ice

It was success in Worlds at home to Adrian Schultheiss. But since then foot injuries have destroyed his life – until this Thusday.

- Finally, I've skated my new program completely on ice, says a happy Schultheiss. After 13th in Worlds in Göteborg, Schultheiss participate only one more competition. Then he had a surgery of an old injury in the left foot. Rehab went fine, but when he began to practice again everything went wrong.

- I was stupid enough to practice a entire new program with brand new skates. In normal cases you need a month running-in with new skates, explains Schultheiss to TT. A mistake that gave an inflammation above the ankle on the outside of the right foot. Due to this, the 20 year-old native of Göteborg missed practice for a couple of months and he has no high expectations when he goes to US and GP in Everett, Washington, next week.

- Competing will be hard. I tasted blood when I run the entire LP, but it was a good feeling. I just aim to get my condition for the program back right now.
But I feel like I have the technique, among other things I jumped the tripple Axel at once. And until Euros in Helsinki in January and Worlds in LA at the end of March, there's still much time.

- I don't look that far ahead. But maybe I can reach top 10 in Euros, says Schultheiss who doesn't think there's any risk that he will get too eager when he finally is able to skate 100%.
- My coach Evgeni Lutkov says that the one who works the hardest get furthest. But then I just tell him that it's the one who's clever and look after his injuries who'll get furthest.

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