Ramona Härdi

Other sports

She has represented Switzerland in roller speed skating, and finished 13th in the marathon at the 2022 European Championships in L'Aquila, Italy. (ramonahaerdi.ch, 26 Sep 2022; europeanws2022.it, 11 Sep 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 11 Oct 2023)

Reason for choosing this sport

She followed some friends from inline skating to speed skating because she wanted to try an Olympic sport. "Since all my inline sports colleagues tried to move onto the skates I could not resist the opportunity. We formed a good training community and suddenly I liked the skates more than the wheels."

Ambitions

To win a medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (ramonahaerdi.ch, 02 Jan 2021; aargauerzeitung.ch, 17 Feb 2021)

Name of coach	Kalon Dobbin [national], NZL
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began inline skating at age six. She switched to speed skating at age 15 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Memorable sporting achievement	Qualifying for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)
Most influential person in career	Coaches Timo Jarvinen and Kalon Dobbin. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)
Hero / Idol	Belgian speed skater Bart Swings. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"If there's a will, there's a way." (Athlete, 11 Nov 2017)

ramonahaerdi.ch/
www.facebook.com/ramona.hardi.5

Hobbies	Making and drinking coffee, hiking, snowboarding, yoga, reading. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)
Injuries	Injuries to both knees and her back prevented her from training for three months in 2020. (aargauerzeitung.ch, 01 Dec 2020) She was affected by severe knee pain in 2019. (ramonahaerdi.ch, 01 Apr 2020)
Milestones	She competed in team pursuit alongside her international teammates Nadja Wenger and Kaitlyn McGregor at the 2021 World Cup event in Heerenveen, Netherlands, which was the first time Switzerland had been represented in women's team pursuit on the World Cup circuit. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2021; swissiceskating.ch, 15 Dec 2020)

Training Regime

She trains up to six hours a day, six days per week in Geisingen, Germany, between March and September. She trains in Inzell, Germany, during the northern hemisphere winter months.

Other information

RETURN TO INLINE SKATING She said that disappointment with her 2021/22 speed skating season led her to return to inline skating, the sport she had first taken up as a child. She went on to compete in roller speed skating at the 2022 European Championships in L'Aquila, Italy. "This summer [in 2022] training was a bit different to previous years. After a disappointing season I was looking for new goals and, in particular, I wanted to enjoy competing again. I started inline skating at age six and it was in this sport that I made my first steps towards elite sport. It was a pleasure for me to be able to devote more time to inline skating again and at the same time gain important experience for the winter." (ramonahaerdi.ch, 26 Sep 2022; europeanws2022.it, 11 Sep 2022) OCCUPATION She works part-time as a technical drawer for a company that produces vehicle and workshop technology. (vtg.admin.ch, 03 May 2023; LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2022; Lenzburger Bezirks-Anzeiger, 14 Apr 2022)

Club / Team

Eislauf-Club Zurich: Switzerland

Nicknames

Mona (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)