The International Quizzing championships always feature many great characters from all over the world, from TV stars to local geniuses but today we spoke to Paralympic gold medal winner Claudia Lösch at the IQC’s.
As a former Paralympic skier Claudia isn’t new to entering fierce competitions, but when quizzed on her aspirations at this year’s IQC, she knew what she came here to do.
Outside of quizzing, Claudia has an inspiring story as she was tragically paralysed in a car accident at just five years old in 1994, but she didn’t let that get in her way. Just eight years later she became a member of Austria’s Ski team for Disabled Sports and won her first Paralympic medal in 2006.
After competing in the Paralympics as a physical athlete, Claudia found that she needed a way to train her mind as much as her body, she explained how she found the path to becoming a mental athlete in quizzing:
“When I was still an active athlete I needed something for my brain too, for years I was reduced to just taking care of my body and shaping up and doing everything to stay fit.
“At some point I discovered I needed something to improve my mind.
“A friend took me pub quizzing, that’s how I got in touch with the quizzing scene.”
Claudia has won a huge total of nine medals at the Paralympic games, with two of those being gold – winning both at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. Outside of the Paralympic games Claudia has won 19 medals in other competitions.
She trained to the highest level to achieve her dreams at the Paralympics, but transitioning to quizzing didn’t mean the training got easier, she said:
“For the top level players like Kevin (Ashman) and Pat (Gibson) for them it’s like professional skiing or any professional sport, they really prepare for it, they train all year and, for them, this is the highest level they can reach.”
As for herself, the International Quizzing Championships this year is all about having fun and getting involved in the community, but she does have one goal:
“We have great admiration to each others skills and that is what I especially like about this community.
“It’s a lot of fun being here with everyone!
“My expectations are not that high… I’m here to beat my boyfriend!”
You can watch Claudia Lösch’s full interview here: https://youtu.be/-99dfbMr3F0
