In the SWR story “Success at all costs” gymnasts talk about shine, pressure and grievances. The documentary in the ARD Mediathek and SWR television can be seen.
They are sentences under the skin. Olympic gymnast Janine Berger, fourth in London in 2012, talks about one of the worst moments in her life. “At some point I thought I couldn’t live anymore, I don’t want to live anymore. I also thought of how I wanted to end my life.” The 29-year-old, who ended her career as a competitive athlete in early 2025, tells in the SWR documentary “Success at all costs?” Your moving story. Statements like this show how high the price can be when sporting success is above everything.
Berger was one of the greatest German hope wearers in gymnastics. But behind her dazzling success there was a story of suffering that brought her to her limits – physically and mentally. Only years later she speaks relentlessly about the system that she shaped and partially broken.
Berger is not alone with her history. Elisabeth Seitz, Germany’s most successful gymnast, also opens in this impressive documentation. At the beginning of the year she made it public in the SWR for the first timehow much she also suffered from humiliation and psychological pressure. Experiences that remained hidden for a long time.
Despite all the grievances, the gymnasts unite the love of gymnastics. Many of them are now committed to ensuring that the next generation can train in a healthier, more respectful environment.
For me there is no narrow line between hard training and the abuse of power. For me this is a clear limit.
Janine Berger in the SWR documentary “Success at all costs?”
The entire gymnastics system is struggling
The documentary illustrates: When talking about abuse of power, it is not just about individual trainers, trainers or officials or individual misconduct. It’s about a very special training culture. For some athletes, a harsh tone in the sports hall and permanent pressure were “normal”. It was only by far to many of them how stressful or even harmful a lot of experiences were. Regular control of body weight and the sometimes unhealthy handling of your own eating behavior is also a big topic in women’s gymnastics.
That was normal in this system. As soon as I made a jump that was not so perfect, I went on the scales.
Janine Berger in the SWR documentary “Success at all costs?”
The German Turner Association (DTB) is considerably criticized in view of such grievances. DTB President Alfons Hölzl speaks in the documentary about the “performance with respect” internal initiative and emphasizes: “I am convinced that the concepts we already have really have world-class level. But I think we have not yet arrived at all bases with our ideas.” The SWR story shows why this is not enough and why real changes are more difficult to implement than it seems at first glance.
Trainer Bachmayer lives human -friendly philosophy
In addition to the athletes, Tatjana Bachmayer also has their say. The trainer at the Chemnitz base, head coach in Karlsruhe by 2024, stands for modern, human -friendly philosophy: “Only when people are doing well can the athlete also perform.” Their approach shows that success and humanity do not have to be a contradiction – even if it has long been smiled at for this attitude in the established system.
How does that see Performance gymnastics of the future?
The former national gymnast is Pauline Tratz (alongside Claus Hanischdörfer) co-author of this SWR story. She searched for traces for several weeks. In doing so, she met companions, trainers and associations. But she also looked at Switzerland, where a cultural change was initiated a few years ago after a gymnastics scandal.
At the end of this document, the central question is: How can gymnastics succeed in competitive sports without breaking young people? The SWR story “Success at all costs?” There are from Thursday, September 18, in the ARD Mediathek. On September 18, September 18 at 9:00 p.m. on SWR television.
