SPIEGEL: Mr Grønnemark, you started as a throw-in coach at the Danish football club Viborg FF in 2004. Until 2019 you even held the Guinness World Record for long throwing. How did that happen?
Thomas Grønnemark: In 2008 I thought: I’m the first throw-in coach in the world, why not the one with the longest throw-in? Back then, the world record was 48.17 meters, and it has not been broken since 1998. I was able to throw 42 meters and tried everything for two years to increase my distance – somersault throw-ins, for example. In June 2010 I threw 51.33 meters and broke the world record.
SPIEGEL: Today you work for Liverpool FC, among others. Where does your training start?
Green field: There are 30 different parameters that I pay attention to. I also use video analysis for this. The start-up is particularly important – the speed, the timing of the steps. Then the right stance – you need a firm stance to bring the strength across. And then you have to pull the throw in one line.
