Berlin, Oct 9 Sometimes things get stressful for Lukas Dauser. Always keeping a very special item fresh and clean requires strict planning aside from unusual methods.
As a fact, the 30-year-old might have one of the most unusual lucky charms among athletes at the Artistic Gymnastic World Championships in Antwerp, reports Xinhua.
But efforts paid off for the German as he took gold in the parallel bars competition (15.400) ahead of China's Shi Cong (15.066) and Japan's Kaito Sugimoto (15.000).
"I always wear the same underpants for competition. I have done this for three years," the German admitted while talking about laundry challenges when having to set up a clothesline in his room between breakfast and lunch.
"With that many competitions, you sometimes get into time trouble and need to improvise," said Germany's first gold medal winner since 2007.
Dauser's wife Viktoria tried to ease her husband's malaise by buying new underwear for his 30th birthday, but in the end, his robust superstitiousness succeeded as he took his familiar ones for the worlds in Belgium.
"I can't believe it," the gymnast said after celebrating wrapped in a German flag. Chief coach Valeri Belenki called the performance "something you can't do better." His personal coach Hubert Brylok reported about his protegee's strong nerves.
"It's always a challenge to stay calm and simultaneously push things to the limits," the world champion said.
Before winning the 2023 title in the absence of the 2022 title winner and Olympic Champion Zou Jingyuan of China, the German had to travel a bumpy road as private changes and an injury made things difficult.
Dauser had to fight his way up facing a mental low, as he and his wife for several months had to deal with a long-distance relationship after the aspiring dentist moved to Hannover for a job, while his training base remains located in Halle, over 200 kilometers away.
"To be honest, it took a while to get along. After I was sloppy when training I had to concentrate and get back to more discipline," he said.
Due to the injury, he had to skip the 2022 European Championship in Liverpool, as well as the national championships in Dusseldorf.
Things worked out, and in time for Antwerp, he regained what he called "the beast mode." A hard day followed the happy end "as it took me a lot of energy to find my balance."
Having given his lucky underpants a wash in the morning, a satisfying feeling accompanied the German when starting his competition exercise.
The triumphant achievement made Dauser turn his head towards the 2024 Olympics in Paris "as this is what counts for the upcoming months, nothing else," he added.
While preparations for the Olympics might start the day after, for the moment the winner enjoyed his success. "The best parallel bars athlete. How great does that sound?" he said.
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