Sophomore Lotta Peterson is staying at FHC for this school year and then returning to her hometown in Germany. 

Lotta lived in a small town back home and participated in a track and field club for ten years until COVID-19 hit, and her trainer had to move away to Sweden. This forced Lotta to switch to a different club, but this wasn’t the only reason she joined a new club. 

“I didn’t really have anyone my age in the club,” Lotta said. “They were either much older than me or much younger. It was hard in the competitions because I was usually [running] all on my own.” 

Other teams had girls that were closer in age and were able to become friends. This was upsetting to Lotta because she never got to experience this because of the age difference between her and the other girls that were a part of her team. 

“It was a big step for me,” said Lotta, who always knew that she would have to move on eventually. “I had been a part of the club for ten years, and then I had to get out to do something new.” 

All in all, Lotta has been doing track for 11 years. At the age of four, her mom forced her to join the track and field club. In the beginning, she did not want to participate because she didn’t have any friends in the club, but with time and practice, she became more determined as she discovered that it was her work ethic was a good fit for track. 

“I am a really hard worker,” Lotta said. “I want to push through so badly that I am just putting my effort into it so I can achieve my goals.” 

To prepare for track and field, Lotta gets the rest that she needs along with eating healthy food. But overall, practice is the most important thing to reach her goals. 

“I want to prove to myself that I can be better and that I can beat my personal best,” Lotta said.  

Back in Germany, Lotta did five different things for her track and field club, which included the one-hundred-meter hurdles, the javelin throw, the long jump, and either the eight-hundred-meters or two-thousand-meters.  

With all of the successes and failures she overcomes and challenges that come before her, Lotta’s main conflict is that she gets caught up in her head and thinks too much about the upcoming events. When she approaches the high jump, knowing she has many attempts actually makes her more anxious. If she fails the first one, it gets into her head even more, and she becomes more nervous. She’s trying to overcome this by reminding herself to settle down.

“Just try your best,” Lotta said. “If you fail, go back and work on yourself. You need to remind yourself to relax. [It] can be difficult at times.”  

Another obstacle that she faces is that there are multiple events, and when Lotta is not able to practice the individual discipline, it can become confusing. She participates in field events along with track events which require a lot of stamina and organization. The track events require running at a fast pace, and the field events require throwing.  

Now that Lotta is attending school at FHC, she plans to bring her track and field experience and expertise to the school’s team.  

“I did track and field before I came here for about ten years,” Lotta said, “so I definitely plan to continue this school year.”