Olympic champion is now a lifeguard Why Beat Hefti compares himself to Cristiano Ronaldo
Olympic champion Beat Hefti is now a lifeguard in Herisau - but he still can't do without bobsleigh. In the talk "Legends for eternity" he compares himself to football legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
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- Olympic champion Beat Hefti draws parallels to Cristiano Ronaldo with a wink and emphasizes how crucial a good team is for sporting success, even in bobsleigh.
- Today he works as a pool attendant in Herisau, runs the pool with his family and uses social media for local advertising.
- Despite retiring, Switzerland's last bobsleigh star won the Swiss two-man bobsleigh title again in 2020. Even today, Badi Hefti would still be confident of winning the Swiss championship title, but his start times are no longer at the top level.
With a wink, but still: Beat Hefti does see some parallels between himself and Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time world footballer and former star of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus Turin. Hefti was once one of the world's best bobsleigh racers, the best in his country. "But like Ronaldo, I also needed a team. If he had played for FC Solothurn, he wouldn't have won so many titles," says Hefti and laughs during the "Legends for eternity" talk on blue.
And while CR7 continues to show off his toned body to the world on social media and in traditional media, his body is still an important tool for Hefti today, almost seven years after his official retirement. Since last year, the 2014 Olympic bobsleigh champion has been a lifeguard in his home town of Herisau. Up to 1600 guests swim under Hefti's control.
"When there are fewer people, you can have a good chat with someone. But when it's full, there's a lot to do." Hefti, who trained as a professional trainer and marketing specialist after his career, takes care of everything. He also cleans the toilets and hoses down the showers. "There are so many people from different countries and with different characters in the Badi - we make sure that everyone has a good time."
Hefti's wife Sheena takes care of the catering in the Badi restaurant. And when the crowds are particularly high in summer, Hefti's daughters Amy Lynn, Mara Jennifer and Jill Corinne help out at the till - the three of them are between 11 and 15 years old.
Two years after retiring: Swiss champion again
Like Ronaldo and as a trained marketing professional, Hefti promotes the Badi with videos on social media. "But I'm only interested in informing people in the region and inviting them to visit us," Hefti immediately reassures them. He is certainly a little less vain than global brand CR7.
Since the end of his career, Hefti has lost 25 kilos in weight, mainly muscle. He says with a grin: "Towards the end of my career, my weight was a bit more mass than muscle mass."
He became Swiss champion again in 2020 - more than two years after his last race to date and almost a year after his official retirement. Hefti proved once again who the best Swiss bobsleigh racer was alongside track and field athlete Dominik Schläpfer.
Would he be confident of another triumph today, five years later? After all, Hefti still regularly climbs into the sled with guests at the St. Moritz Bob Run and continues to feel the adrenaline of "this unique sport" at 140 kilometers per hour, as he says. "You don't forget anything in terms of driving. That would still be possible. But then there's the start time, and I certainly wouldn't be as fast."
