"What do ... actually do?" The Rockmeier twins are committed to the up-and-coming sport

2001 in Edmonton, Birgit and Gabi Rockmeier celebrated the greatest success of their long athletics career. But what are the twins from Moosburg actually doing today? We asked around.

Moosburg - Every Monday - usually - the training for the athletics children takes place in Wolfersdorf at the SVA Palzing as well as at the TV Münchsmünster. It gets really loud in the gym. Laughter, wild romping around and concentrated movement and coordination exercises can be observed. Both athletics groups have something in common, even though the towns are 45 kilometers apart: the instructor's name is Rockmeier. Gabi is active as a trainer in Münchsmünster from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Birgit leads the unit in the Wolfersdorfer gym from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This success was the first really big exclamation point: At the 1991 European Junior Championships, the Rockmeier twins won relay gold over the 4x100 meter distance - at that time with (from left) Silke Lichtenhagen, Birgit and Gabi Rockmeier and Katharina Gaus.

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Countless medals on the world's tartan tracks

Many of the children do not really know which prominent trainer is standing with them in the hall. From 1991 to 2005, the Rockmeier twins from Aich near Moosburg collected countless medals and successes on the world's tartan tracks. First for TSV Jahn Freising and then from 1999 for LG Olympia Dortmund.

EM gold for Germany! The 4x400 meter relay with (from left) Birgit Rockmeier, Florence Ekpo-Umoh, Claudia Marx and Grit Breuer topped the crown at the Munich Olympic Stadium in 2002.

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But the days when daily training and competitions on the weekend determined the schedule of the two 46-year-olds are long gone. In 2006, they ended their careers in the German Athletics Association. It was not difficult for them at the time, both emphasize in unison. On the contrary - after some serious injuries, she was “happy that it was over,” says Gabi. In the first two or three years after, there was still contact with competitive sports, especially for Birgit as a supervisor of various training groups. But little by little, both as exercise instructors have dedicated themselves to the up-and-coming sport at their respective place of residence. But it is about the joy of movement for the children and not about forming performance groups or even taking part in competitions.

A completely normal life with work, family and household

Birgit and Gabi also rarely follow events in the athletics scene. “Sure, when a big event is on TV and you look inside, you get excited. But not more than normal sports fans, too, ”the twins agree. Shortly after the end of her career, the ex-sprinters had started a normal life with work, household and family.

In uniform: This picture shows Birgit (l.) And Gabi Rockmeier in 1994 after their basic training with the Bundeswehr.

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Both were active as medical soldiers in the sports promotion group of the Bundeswehr for several years during their active time and were then partially released from sports by their employers. From 2006 they finally returned to their professions. Birgit, who had trained with the city administration in Moosburg, passed the exam to become a specialist in health promotion and is now employed by the city of Freising's regulatory office. Gabi had completed an apprenticeship at the Freising employment office, then moved to Erding and came to the job center in Abensberg via the Ingolstadt family fund.

"It was just our way"

Birgit Rockmeier looks after the athletics kids at SVA Palzing.

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In the meantime, both of them focus on their own family in addition to their job. Birgit lives in Wolfersdorf, is married and is kept on the go by daughter Magdalena. She does sport once a week at Pilates and as a trainer for the SVA athletics children.

Gabi, who has fallen in love to Münchsmünster, has her children's training group there and goes jogging from time to time. She is also married and has a sporty young talent in the house with her daughter Julia. Not an athlete, but as a dancer with the Kindergarde in Vohburg, the proud mom was allowed to accompany her daughter to numerous appearances during the carnival season. Almost like it was over 30 years ago when the two Rockmeier parents drove their sprint twins into training every day in Freising.

Gabi Rockmeier trains a group of children in Münchsmünster.

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Birgit answers the question of whether they later regret having sacrificed their youth and so much time to competitive sports: “This is a hypothetical question that we cannot answer. We didn't know it any other way. It was just our way. We chose that one, ready to go. ” Josef Fuchs

To the series

The Freising Tagblatt presents athletes who have ended their active careers, have moved out of the district or have taken a completely new path. In the next part we look at the former top judoka Rainer Zistl from Moosburg.

Your greatest success