Highs and lows are often close together in sport. In the BR24Sport podcast “Pizza and Fries,” Jessica von Bredow-Werndl speaks openly about her lowest point after winning double Olympic gold.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is one of the most successful dressage riders in the world, along with her mare Dalera She has won gold at the Olympic Games four times. Outsiders know the woman from Rosenheim floating gracefully over the dressage arena; they know Jessica von Bredow-Werndl from the often glamorous equestrian scene and from photos in which she presents her gold medals.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl suffered from Post-Olympic blues
In the BR24Sport podcast “Pizza & Fries”, Bredow-Werndl now speaks openly about the dark side of success, the other side of the coin. “After Tokyo I fell into a hole,” says the 39-year-old. This phase, which is also known in technical language as the “post-Olympic blues”, lasted six months.
About the award-winning documentary: Jessica von Bredow-Werndl · Between family and Olympic gold
Olympic Games, for which athletes spend years training, can be followed by an emotional hole. Symptoms include fatigue, listlessness and depressive moods. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl says on “Pizza & Fries”: “Sure, that’s the lifelong dream of so many athletes, that they can achieve that once in their lives. And: What’s next? It doesn’t matter whether you won a medal or took part in it.”
Honest communication is key
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl “fought day by day” after the Tokyo Games.
During this time, von Bredow-Werndl once again became aware of how essential honest communication is: “We communicate with energy. We want to inspire the horses for what we do through positive reinforcement.” With horses, as with humans, communication must be based on honesty:
Family, coaches and nature helped Bredow-Werndl out of the hole
Looking back, she says: “Those six months were a tough time.” She wasn’t depressed, “but I had moments where I thought: ‘Okay, that’s what it must feel like.’ But von Bredow-Werndl accepted the difficult time: “The nice thing about the whole emptiness was that I accepted it. I didn’t fight it, I accepted it.”
In the end, the 39-year-old found a way to get out of rock bottom. “I went horseback riding a lot and was outside in nature, which gives you a lot of strength: mountains, hiking.” Her personal environment also gave her strength during this time: “My family and my child also helped me out – My child didn’t care whether I came first or last in Tokyo.” Thanks to her environment, honest communication and constant work on herself, things went really well.
She overcame this time thanks to her coaches. Since 2016, she has been working with Felix Gottwald, the former Austrian Nordic combined athlete and 18-time Olympic medalist. The dressage rider also opened up to a spiritual coach.
With a new purpose into the future
Von Bredow-Werndl first needed a “purpose,” as she says. “I set myself a goal again and thought to myself: ‘What’s next?'” Her goal is not to become an Olympic champion, “but to show in this sport that the absolute love of horses and top-class sport can go hand in hand.”
Encouraged by this goal, her love for her horses and equestrian sport, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl put the difficult times behind her. After the Games in Paris, where she won two gold medals again, she found a better way to deal with great successes: “And that was only possible because I let myself experience it with all my senses.”
Source: BR24Sport October 15, 2025 – 6:30 p.m
