ULRICH Marek

General
RETIREMENT AND COMEBACK
In February 2018 he announced his retirement from swimming and began working at a correctional facility in Hamm, Germany. He said that he had motivation problems after the resignation of his coach, Frank Embacher. "When I saw the 2019 World Championships [in Gwangju] in Korea on TV, it finally spurred my ambition. If you are ahead in competitive sport, then you are in an extraordinary position and in the limelight. Sometimes I missed that." He returned to training at the end of 2019 resuming his career at SSG Leipzig and working with Embacher again. He did not return to international competition until the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in May 2021. A month later he was included on the German Olympic team for the Games in Tokyo. "After I only started swimming in Leipzig again at the end of 2019, I am totally overwhelmed by how great my comeback has gone so far. I am overjoyed that all the hard work was worth it, that I never gave up and that I am now officially part of the Olympic team." (mz.de, 04 Jul 2021; sportbuzzer.de, 05 Apr 2020; swimsportnews.de, 03 Feb 2020)