Former ski jumper (22) speaks for the first time about his eating disorder

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The laughter is back. Dominik Peter found happiness next to the ski jump.

Nicola AbtRingier journalism student

Shortly before midnight, Dominik Peter (22) loses control. The ski jumper storms into the kitchen, eats half a kilo of pasta and three bars. “I stuffed everything I could find into myself.” Before that, the brain of the third-place finisher at the 2021 Junior World Championships was going crazy. “As soon as I closed my eyes, all I saw were pizzas, spaghetti or sweets.”

A binge – once again. And that on the evening before leaving for the 2023 World Cup in Slovenia. “The next morning I felt catastrophic.” Unsurprisingly, the Zurich native missed the qualification for jumping on the small hill. Back at the hotel he suffers a nervous breakdown. “I sat on my bed and didn’t know what to do.”

Often just one meal a day

A year has passed since then. Peter didn’t take part in any more competitions. The only official report about him this winter came in October and was that he was taking a break from top-level sport due to an eating disorder and was foregoing the 2023/24 season. Now he’s talking about it with Blick for the first time and making it clear: There will be no return to the ski jumps, the Beijing 2022 Olympian is stepping down.

Peter sits down at the dining table in his apartment in Einsiedeln SZ. He appears healthy, weighs 70 kilograms, around ten kilograms more than when he was active. “I am very well. I feel comfortable in my body again.” He says about the eating disorder: “I went to bed hungry for years.”

Warning signal early in the morning

Peter realized how crucial weight is in ski jumping when he was just 14 years old. He observed the competition at international competitions. “I was shocked at how thin they all were.” The Zurich native quickly realized: “If I want to fly far, I have to be light.”

Shortly afterwards, the ambitious athlete voluntarily changed his diet. “I skipped breakfast and dinner.” He ordered a variety of diet products online.

Peter soon realized how unhealthy his eating habits were. “When I woke up in the morning during the season, my vision was black when I got up.”

A warning signal that the Zurich resident ignored for years. For him, this lifestyle was part of being a successful ski jumper. From Peter’s point of view, this was often lived in the team. “Sometimes I got the impression that weight was more important than performance and the enjoyment of sport.”

Hurtful sayings and looks

The trainers’ irregular weight checks began when he was 17. Looking back, Peter says: “The number on the scale drove me crazy. Every morning I woke up with a fear inside me.” He was always bothered by the same question: Do I have to go on the scales today? “When I saw one, no matter where, my pulse immediately shot up to 180.”

The coach’s comments hit him particularly hard. Greetings like: “Today you have big thighs again” bothered him. But Peter didn’t let on. “Such sayings hit me deep in the heart.” Just like the looks from competitors. “I could feel her thoughts: ‘He looks heavy today. He must have eaten too much again yesterday.”

Constantly under observation

He used a special weight trick in the training camp. In some cases the control took place before training without a coach. So Peter warmed up until he was the last person to get on the scales. He never stood up for it. “No matter what number appeared there, I didn’t want to see it.” He wrote a value in the trainer’s book that satisfied the trainer.

He wanted to please the coach. Even when eating together. «The trainer felt like he was always watching my plate. So I took less than usual and certainly no carbohydrates.”

Blick asked one of the trainers mentioned what he thought of his former protégé’s statements. He remains silent and refers to his former employer Swiss Ski.

FIS reacts with rule changes

Peter was stuck in a vicious circle. The same film week after week: “From Monday to the competition on Sunday I hardly ate anything. On Sunday evening I lost control. Afterwards I had a guilty conscience and an enormous anger at myself. Then everything started again. » At times he ate three frozen pizzas, a pack of biscuits and 350 grams of M&M’s in one go.

His ideal weight on the day of the competition was 60 to 61 kilos, spread over a height of 1.82 meters. “Achieving this was a huge struggle.” Peter is not alone in this. Many ski jumpers are hungry for success. The most prominent example is Olympic champion and Four Hills Tournament winner Sven Hannawald (49).

The world association FIS responded in 2004 with a body mass index rule that is constantly being adjusted. Since then, jumpers have had to reach a minimum BMI value in order to be able to jump the maximum ski length.

Problems are often ignored

Peter thinks he knows why the weight problem hasn’t gone away. «Young ski jumpers are often confronted with their ideal weight too early. I didn’t want to talk about my real problems with the team because otherwise I would feel like I was a loser.”

Swiss Ski has now responded to the increasing number of cases of eating disorders and launched the “Fuel 2.0” program. The athletes’ energy balance is examined and they are offered assistance for a balanced energy intake.

When Blick Swiss Ski was confronted with Peter’s case, the association did not want to comment specifically. In a statement they say: “An open but careful approach to the topic is central and is also maintained within the Swiss ski jumping team.” In training courses, they provide the trainers with knowledge and tools for accompanying and supporting the athletes. “For Swiss Ski, the health of the athletes is always our top priority.”

Playing hide-and-seek – even in front of the family

Not even his loved ones knew what Peter looked like inside. “I trivialized the problem to my family for years. I explained to them that the binge eating was good for me and that I had everything under control.” When he visited his family, he ate a smaller portion and went home, where he lost control again.

Since he was 17, he has lived alone in Einsiedeln due to the better training conditions. At the beginning of last year, his eating disorder reached its negative peak. He lost control of his eating habits almost every day, including the evening before he left for the World Cup in Slovenia.

Missing confidants

Flashback to that evening in Planica. Desperate on the bed in his hotel room. The qualification botched. What next? The jumping on the large ski jump will only take place in four days. His only thought: “How am I going to get through this time without binge eating?” After a phone call with his parents and his mental coach, things became clear. «I wanted to go home. It didn’t work anymore.”

He explained to the trainers and those responsible that he lacked the energy for further jumps. Peter kept the real reason – the eating disorder – to himself. “I kept it a secret from them because I didn’t feel comfortable around them.” He only spoke about his problems with athletic trainer Marc Völz. “He was my only confidant in ski jumping.”

Psychologist speaks out

Back in Switzerland, Peter sought medical help. The psychologist forbade him to have any contact with a scale. In consultation with experts, he endured the recurring eating attacks without resistance. But I had to learn again to consciously eat every meal in an appropriate quantity. “Within a few weeks I gained around 15 kilos.” The classic yo-yo effect. Because his body was afraid of another period of hunger, he built up fat reserves.

During this phase, Peter secretly dreamed of a ski jumping comeback. “I love this sport!” On the advice of the psychologist, he decided against it for the time being and sat out a season. With the help of hypnosis he should find his way back to a normal life. “My brain had to learn to love food again.”

A landmark encounter at 2 a.m

At the same time, Peter took a job in service at the milk factory in Einsiedeln. A stroke of luck. “The great team gave me a lot of strength.” After a few days he fell in love with his work colleague Katja (23). They now live in a shared apartment. «Katja showed me that there are many other great things besides ski jumping. Thanks to her, I found the joy in life again.”

And it got even better. At a wedding reception in the milk factory, Peter met a police officer from the Schwyz cantonal police. “At 2 a.m. he ordered a drink from me at the bar. We started talking and he gave me his business card.”

Being a police officer, one of Peter’s childhood dreams. The more intensively he looked into it, the clearer it became to him: That’s what I want to do. “When I was 100 percent healthy again and my doctors confirmed this, I applied to the Schwyz cantonal police.” He mastered the individual hurdles brilliantly. It has been clear since the end of February that he will begin the two-year training next fall.

Scars that will never heal

“My ski jumping career is now over.” He is no longer angry at the people who – in addition to his own fault – drove him into food addiction. “I have made peace with my body and ski jumping.”

The hunger attacks are defeated. To this day, there is only one thing that gives him a special feeling: the sight of a scale. Immediately there are the unpleasant memories of the past. “These scars will probably never heal completely.”

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