Alica Schmidt gets real about returning to South Africa for high altitude training camp

Alica Schmidt expressed her thoughts about returning to South Africa for a high-altitude training camp. The German athlete had recently made her debut in the 800m as she continued to fulfill her promise of transitioning into a middle-distance event after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics.

Right after the Paris Olympics, the 26-year-old went to South Africa to train in a high-altitude training camp and work on multiple aspects of her performance as she aimed to transition from the 400m to the 800m. Alica Schmidt revealed that she worked on her endurance as well as strength during the off-season to compete in the first few indoor races of the season.

Schmidt made her 800m season debut at the Erfurt athletics meet in Germany and clocked 2:05.57. Alica Schmidt continued to compete in a few more races in the indoor season, including the National Championships; however, she failed to achieve a podium position in all her appearances. She was optimistic about improving her performances as the season progressed and revealed that she would be going back to South Africa to prepare for the outdoor season.

Schmidt shared glimpses of her first few training sessions in South Africa and revealed how she has been feeling the pressure of endurance training at a high altitude. She shared an update about her workout with her team as she acclimatized to the high altitude.

"Otherwise training was good. Double threshold day means loots of mileage. I could really feel that we are on 1900m in my lungs the last two days," she wrote.

Alica Schmidt gives an update about her training in South Africa | Instagram@alicasmd

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Alica Schmidt on her first National Games appearance of the season

Schmidt competes in the 4x400 relay Athletics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 14 - Source: Getty

Alica Schmidt expressed her thoughts about her first National appearance of the 2025 season in a detailed Instagram post. The German athlete expressed that she could not perform according to her plans; however, she was optimistic about putting forward incredible performances in the future.

Moreover, Schmidt revealed that as it was one of her first few competitions in the 800m, she still had a long way to go as far as the tactical aspect of the event is concerned.

"First 800m at nationals are in the books! It didn’t go as planned, and the final was a very tough race for me. Overall I became 4th and I’m not satisfied with that but it‘s just the beginning. I knew before my indoor season that my first races wouldn’t be easy and there’s a lot to learn especially tactically. Still, racing the 800m now already was the best decision to improve for the summer!" she wrote.

Alica Schmidt hoped to return to the track in the summer for the outdoor season after working and improving on her weak points.