I've known for a long time that I want children

The 29-year-old Nina Brunner and her partner Tanja Hüberli were honoured in Steinhausen for their beach volleyball Olympic medal. Now she wants to prioritise her private life - just for a while?

With four children and a job as a primary school teacher? ‘Neither,‘ answers Nina Brunner when asked where she sees herself in eight years’ time. She is sitting in a café in Steinhausen. This is where she grew up, and where she and her beach volleyball partner Tanja Hüberli were to be honoured later that day.

With the support of the municipality and private sponsors, the local volleyball club organised an event to honour their Olympic bronze medal win in the summer. 300 people came to the community centre in Steinhausen. Afterwards, Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli signed autographs for an hour and a half.

Eight years ago, in 2016, Nina Brunner also sat in the above-mentioned café. At the time, she talked about her dream of training to become a primary school teacher, which she buried in favour of a career in sport. She had just found a new partner in Tanja Hüberli. Today, she says she would never have thought that what followed was possible at all: six Swiss championship titles, two European Championship titles, two elite tournament victories and countless medals, one of which stands out: the Olympic bronze medal.

It's a fast-forward look back at a period of her life that has probably come to an end, a period of her life in its own right. Nina Brunner recently decided to focus on family rather than planning to take part in tournaments. ‘I know that I've made this decision, but I don't feel it yet,’ explained the 29-year-old openly. ‘I'll probably realise it as soon as Tanja starts training without me.’ Tanja Hüberli is continuing her career alongside Leona Kernen.

Thoughts have been circling for three years
Nina Brunner hasn’t taken this step lightly. ‘Nina is a person who takes a long time to make a decision. But as soon as she has made one, she is convinced of it,’ says her mother Christine, the person who has known her the longest. Nina Brunner uses the same words. ‘I've known for a long time that I want children.’ The decision-making process began three years ago, after the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which ended in disappointment for the pair. Nina Brunner/ Tanja Hüberli were defeated in the round of 16 by their compatriots Heidrich/Vergé-Dépré.

Nina Brunner (left) and Tanja Hüberli sign autographs for an hour and a half at their ceremony in Steinhausen
Around 300 people came to the community hall to see and hear Nina Brunner (right) and Tanja Hüberli                    
The juniors of VBC Steinhausen formed a guard of honour for the Olympic heroes          Photos: Pit Buehler

The European Championship title that followed shortly afterwards gave the duo a new boost. Giving in to their desire to have children could wait a little longer. But now, after the Olympic bronze medal and victories at the two subsequent tournaments, she has the rare opportunity to retire at the pinnacle and as a winner. There is thereby no question that this step is a substitution move; it’s the result of a free choice. ‘I am happy to have made this decision with a positive attitude,’ she says.

She has left the door open for a comeback. The media release announcing her decision talks of a ‘break from top-class sport’. There is already a prominent role model in beach volleyball for successfully returning to the sport after starting a family: Germany's Laura Ludwig won Olympic gold in 2016. She then gave birth to two children and continued to play at world-class level until her retirement this summer. ‘As things stand now, I can imagine playing again,’ says Nina Brunner. ‘But I also realise that the circumstances at home would have to allow it, and the sporting constellation would also have to be right.’ In other words, a suitable partner would have to be available.

This suitability goes beyond the sporting aspect. In Tanja Hüberli, Nina Brunner not only found a playing partner, but also a friend. She had previously formed a duo for eight years with her childhood friend Nicole Eiholzer from Steinhaus. In the following years with her new partner, Nina Brunner learnt something that is fundamental in order to progress in competitive sport: to also be able to address unpleasant things honestly. This was not easy for either of them at the beginning, especially as they were ‘extremely in need of harmony’.

She discovered unrecognised qualities
A beach volleyball partnership is a relationship between two people who are completely interdependent and very close. In addition, expressing emotions is in itself a revealing and therefore intimate act. ‘Showing weakness to the other person is important,’ says Nina Brunner, ’it strengthens mutual trust.’ She has learnt this just as much as doing the exact opposite outwardly: demonstrating dominance, conviction and invincibility.

That doesn't really reflect her personality either
Nina Brunner, a psychology student with an unobtrusive nature, explains that this doesn't really reflect her personality. It is, however, also an essential quality in order to be successful in sport. The same applies to blocking out doubts, especially in a sport in which luck and misfortune alternate by the minute. A mental coach helped her with this, says Nina Brunner. In the end, they both internalised this. The rebound at the Olympic Games is the best example of this. Just one day after the void caused by their semi-final elimination, they won the bronze medal match in impressive style.

After winning the match point, they made a beeline for the stands to see their departing coach Christoph Dieckmann. Nina Brunner's family and her husband, professional ice hockey player Damien Brunner from EHC Biel, were also there. They have been a couple for more than ten years, and were married three years ago. Did having a partner who also plays competitive sport help her in her decision? ‘He had no influence on it, it was my decision,’ says Nina Brunner with a smile, adding: ’Damien would have supported and understood any decision I made if I had decided to continue playing.’

Where does she really see herself in eight years' time? ‘I want a family. And to find something that fulfils me, like sport has done,’ concludes Nina Brunner. She had initially replied: ‘I wouldn't play any more - although that wouldn't be impossible at 37.’

Perhaps she really has just taken a break.