Extreme Athletes in Conversation

“The mental aspect accounts for 95 percent”

I did it! Bernhard Hengl after successfully crossing Lake Constance.(Bild: privat)

Bernhard Hengl, a long-distance swimmer born in Dornbirn (Vorarlberg) and now living in Upper Austria, reveals in an interview with the “Krone” what drives him—and how he rediscovered himself after battling cancer. 

“Krone”: Mr. Hengl, your book is titled “Against the Current.” On the one hand, this refers to your experiences as a long-distance swimmer; on the other, it’s a powerful metaphor. When in your life have you felt like you had to swim against the current?
Bernhard Hengl: When I was 17, I dropped out of school to start an apprenticeship and devote myself more fully to water polo. Two months later, I decided to study law—a decision that drew some ridicule at the time. Nevertheless, I stuck to my goal and attended night school alongside my job and training to earn my high school diploma. During my cancer treatment, I set myself the goal of winning Austria’s tenth water polo championship title—at a time when regular training was still out of the question. In 2017, I actually achieved that. It was a similar story with my “Alpine Seven” project—swimming across seven Alpine lakes. I made that decision at a time when my longest swim to date had been just around two kilometers. Looking back, this pattern runs through my life: time and again, I’ve set goals that seemed unrealistic at first glance—and in doing so, I’ve literally swum against the current.