Olivia Gürth: From the U23 to the world stage
After her ferocious start in the junior division, the rising star of the German athletics world plans her races just like her season – from one challenge to the next.
Words by Robert Birnbaum. Photography by Joel Friedlin.
Olivia Gürth has always cleared the bar. As a child, she playfully jumped over obstacles in the family garden. She later graduated to track and field, where she excelled in the long jump and high jump. But it was after winning two gold medals at the U23 European Championships that Gürth’s true strong suit came to show: the steeplechase.
“I didn’t start track and field with the intention of becoming a runner,” she says. “When I was about 16-years-old, I realized that it’s my strength. I love how it’s not purely about technique, but just about running. About reaching the finish line as fast as possible.”
Reaching the finish as fast as possible – this part sounds straightforward enough. But how do runners like Olivia end up running the steeplechase, navigating four high hurdles and a water pit every lap?
“Not everybody’s made for the steeplechase. Two fellow runners and I wanted to give it a go in the U18 division. Over the years, I’ve really found my place there. It’s something different from just running in circles. I still enjoy the change of pace provided by the obstacles about every 100 meters.”
Leaps aside, 3000m steeplechase runners like Gürth set a blazing pace. The current women’s world record of 8:44:32 is only 38 seconds slower than the world record for the obstacle-free 3000m (8:06:11). The difference in the men’s field stands at 32 seconds. It seems the hurdles don’t make it easier on the athletes. But do they make it harder? Maybe physically speaking, but not mentally. Quite the opposite, as Olivia explains.
“The hurdles are small intermediate goals that help me forget the remaining distance. For me personally, the middle part of races is the toughest. That’s when I shift my focus towards reaching the next hurdle as quickly as possible. I recall one race at the U23 World Championships: I knew my main competitor was going to set a fast pace from the gun, and my strength is the final push. It became my task to stay right on her heel, so I could reel her in over the final stretch. It’s much easier to think ‘I’ll stay with her to the next obstacle’ than to remind myself ‘I have to stay with her for four more laps.’”
“The hurdles are small intermediate goals that help me forget the remaining distance.”
Gürth trusts herself to find another gear in the closing stages of a race. Her spirits – and confidence – rise when she’s nearing the finish line.
“Once I’ve made it through the middle part of a race, I start believing that I can really make a difference in the end. I know it’s almost over. I want to lie down in exhaustion after finishing, knowing that I gave it my all. That I dug in deep on the final sprint – either to beat the clock or the lead pack. I’m glad to have this strength. I know I won’t have to work as hard from the get-go as other runners because I can rely on my strong closing speed.”
“To run thinking ‘I need to keep up until the next hurdle’ is much easier than to think ‘I have to keep up for four more laps.’”
When Olivia Gürth takes the start line, it’s usually prime-time viewing to the very end.
“My mother says she tenses up before I clear the bar. Many runners have experienced falling just 50 meters from the finish line. It can always happen.”
Gürth’s recommendation to avoid that fate: “Don’t hesitate under any circumstances. The faster you approach the bar, the easier you’ll clear it. The water pit is my favorite obstacle. To jump over it and then accelerate coming around the bend. You just don’t get this feeling in other running disciplines.”
This year (2024), Gürth will move up from running in the U23 division to compete with the more senior athletes. While announcing her goals for the year, she doesn’t seem fazed by this step up in competition. First, she wants to finish in the top five at the European Championships in Rome, then make the final on the international stage. Athletes like Olivia Gürth – who holds the title of Germany’s track and field athlete of the year 2023 – are aware that success brings higher expectations and new attention.
“In my next championship race, I won’t be considered the young gun anymore who’s just there to get some experience. That’s new for me. The public eye will be on me before those races – something I’ll learn to deal with.”
Training alongside three-time Olympic finalist Gesa Krause, Gürth has company.
“I’ve heard the name Gesa Krause on television countless times. I was a fan at 16 years old already. To see her at competitions, how the media reacts to her, how many children approach her, the status she holds, the kind of role model she is. You see how professional she is about everything. Her experience regarding media, training and everything else – I believe I profit greatly from this.”
Off the track like on the track – Olivia Gürth benefits from the new On athlete’s presence. Not just as a role model, but as an aspiration too: “To see her in training gives me a good feeling. If one day I can train like her, maybe I can race like her too.
With an iron will and surrounded by experienced peers, Gürth gives it her all to make her dreams come true: “Objectively speaking, you run against the same competition every four years as at the world championships. But Gesa tells me that it’s just a different level. The atmosphere, the feeling, the attention.”
“I think I’ll have to experience it myself first. Just being able to tell people I went that far – it would be a dream come true.”
