Enlarge image
"The time in Japan was exhausting, but also successful": Pauline Schäfer-Betz
Photo: PHILIP FONG / AFP
Former balance beam world champion Pauline Schäfer-Betz won the silver medal on her showpiece at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan.
For the 24-year-old, it was the third World Cup precious metal on the bar after gold in 2017 in Montréal and bronze in 2015 in Glasgow.
"I'm super happy and proud," Schäfer-Betz later said: "I have no words for this." The Japanese Urara Ashikawa alone achieved a higher value with 14.10 points on the ten centimeter bar. The team mate of the new world champion, Mai Murakami, finished third with 13.733 points and later secured gold on the floor. The leaders after the preliminary fight, Luo Rui from China and all-around world champion Angelina Melnikova from Russia, did not do their exercises without a fall.
"I have my set of medals full, but the value of this medal is a little higher than that of the others," said Schäfer-Betz.
Last year was a "challenge".
In November 2020, Schäfer-Betz and other athletes reported in SPIEGEL about psychological violence by trainer Gabriele Frehse.
Frehse had denied the allegations several times.
She is still exposed to hostility, said Schäfer-Betz.
“During the weeks and months of preparation, I tried to hide it all and concentrate on myself.
I think the result speaks for itself «, said the athlete, who was the only German gymnast to return to Japan just two months after the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Schäfer-Betz now wants to set a good example and lead the first camp of her private gymnastics club himself in the coming week.
As an athlete, she is aiming for the European Championships in Munich and the World Cup in Liverpool in 2022.
sak / dpa
