I have finally found peace with 16 October. After exactly 10 years. 😄
(Certainly too late, as always with my social media 😉 , but yes, here we go...)
16 October 2012:
I, a 14-year-old boy, am the youngest participant in the „Formula BMW Shoot Out“ on the Austrian Red Bull Ring to. 🏁🇦🇹 The conditions were very tricky. Some rain and a drying track at the end. This meant that every lap got faster and faster and every lap the 14-year-old underdog was in P1. 🎉 On the last lap, the car in front of me spun into the gravel. Yellow flag, I had to slow down. Other cars were already through without having to slow down. I gave it my all when the track was clear again, drove a fantastic lap, but in the end I was 3 thousandths of a second slower than a 17-year-old boy from the Netherlands. So I finished second.🥈 That means I didn't get the prize, a sponsorship for the Formula BMW Talent Cup 2013, and as you all know, I didn't have the financial means to take part. Without a doubt, together with the race in Zandvoort 2018, the hardest moment in my sporting career. 😔
16 October 2022:
I, a 24-year-old man, am taking part in the 44th International Chess Open in Città di Arco (Italy). 🇮♟ After outplaying a strong opponent in the first round, but missing out on a win in the first time trouble phase and a draw in the second round, I still took a lot of positive energy and confidence with me. I then played fantastic chess and won the next 4 games. 👍🏼 With an ELO performance of 2181, which was absolutely surreal for me, I played against a Polish player in the 6th round. FIDE-😊 No chance for me, of course, but I continued to play great games and won my category on 16 October 2022 after playing the best chess tournament of my life. I also made new friends.😄 So one of my best sporting memories away from the circuit. 😄💪🏼
So, whatever happens in your life, stay strong, keep working hard and keep believing. And then one day good things will definitely happen. You can't force it, but it's bound to happen at some point. That's life, so always fight, always believe and always keep going. 😄💪🏼
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