“My goal is to build up my experience so I perform better later on”

This summer was an emotional roller coaster for Mumenthaler, who went straight from the European Athletics Championships in Rome to the Olympic Games in Paris and then the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne. The 21-year-old bachelor’s student is now understandably taking a break before the academic year begins. His summer kicked off with nothing less than a gold medal in the 200 meters in Rome (clocking a time of 20’’28), which qualified him for the world championships as well as the Olympic Games. “When I walked into the Stade de France in Paris and saw the 80,000 people who had come to watch, it really took my breath away,” says Mumenthaler. “It unnerved me, but at the same time it was amazing – magical!” He’ll never forget this exceptional experience and has even had the Olympic rings tattooed on his right bicep.

200 meters: a strategic race

Although Mumenthaler didn’t make the podium in Paris, the taste of victory he got in Rome has further fueled his competitive drive. He’s determined to win another gold, training relentlessly to reach that goal. “The 100-meter race is straight to the finish – at the end you’re neither tired nor out of breath,” he explains. “But the 200 meters is strategic. You have to navigate the curve, pace yourself and avoid getting distracted by the other athletes, who may not have the same strategy as you. That was the mistake I made in Paris. I lost concentration trying to match the pace of my competitors and undermined my own race. I used up too much energy in the first 80 meters and ran out of steam coming out of the curve.”

At Athletissima in late August, where Mumenthaler competed “at home” in Lausanne’s Stade de la Pontaise, he warmed up alongside newly minted Olympic medal winners such as Grant Holloway, a 110-meter hurdler. Mumenthaler knew had little chance of winning the race, as he was up against a stellar line-up of runners: Letsile Tebogo, the current Olympic champion; Fred Kerley, who won the 100-meter bronze in Paris; and many others who stood out at the Olympic Games. “My goal is to have fun and build up my experience so I perform better later on,” he says. “Athletissima was an incredible experience because it was the first time I raced in Lausanne in a Diamond League competition.” The Diamond League in athletics is equivalent to the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis, representing the highest level of competition worldwide.

A race for points

In athletics, competition is fierce to qualify for major events like the Olympics and the European and world championships. Athletes must accumulate as many points as they can by winning the most “lucrative” races, such as those in the Diamond League: Lausanne (Athletissima), Zurich, Shanghai, Doha, London and Rome. “There are only 48 spots available in the 200-meter race,” says Mumenthaler. “You have to perform well in at least five races to qualify, and target those races that give you the most points. To draw an analogy with EPFL, it would be like choosing a class that gives you six credits instead of three.”

Studying on the plane

“My uncle graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from EPFL around 20 years ago,” says Mumenthaler. “His hobby is paragliding – and that’s probably what inspired me. My parents always encouraged me to go to university, telling me how important it is to have a college degree.” He graduated from high school in his native Geneva Canton and then took a sabbatical year before enrolling at EPFL with a major in microengineering. “I was drawn by how cross-disciplinary the program is,” he says. “Microengineering covers a range of fields: computer science, physics, materials science and more. It enables me to learn about many different topics before deciding on a career.”

In September, Mumenthaler will begin his second year at EPFL, where he’s completing a bachelor’s degree on a half-time basis so that he can continue to train and compete. “People always said I’d have to choose between becoming an elite athlete and doing well in school – but ever since I was little, I’ve been trying my hardest to succeed in both,” he says. However, it hasn’t been easy to juggle training sessions and races with EPFL classes and exams. “Last year I competed in the European Team Athletics Championships in Poland between two thermodynamics exams! I also had a statistics exam the day after I got back to Switzerland. Studying on the plane wasn’t easy and I knew there was a chance I might not pass. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make.” But in the end, Mumenthaler pulled through. “I had to repeat just two first-year classes and re-do an analysis, which I then nailed.”

For now he plans to continue the half-time program at EPFL so he can keep competing. “I’m basically living a double life with two very different sets of challenges, so it makes sense that it’ll take twice as long to get my degree. I realize that my roommates will have completed their master’s while I’ll still be finishing up my bachelor’s. But in terms of athletics, I’m well on track to become a professional athlete.”