For Svenja Brunckhorst, 2024 was “a year of superlatives”: first the double qualification for the Summer Games in Paris, then the historic Olympic gold with the 3×3 team and the election as team of the year. Even after her active career ended, she continued to push women’s basketball forward.
Svenja Brunckhorst finally has some time. And yet so much to do. Especially mentally. She wants to “really let the turbulent past few months sink in” for the first time and process the successes. She wants to use the days off between the years to do this. She spends the turn of the year in the snow with a small group, completely relaxed in a small ski hut – away from the hustle and bustle of the past few months.
“It’s now time for me to give myself a little rest,” says the 3×3 Olympic champion in the NDR interview, “and let the incredibly great year 2024 end in style.” She hasn’t really had time to reflect on everything yet.
Olympic gold for eternity
Since August 5th, Brunckhorst’s life has been turned upside down. Since that warm summer evening in Paris when the 3×3 team sensationally won Olympic gold – in front of basketball icon Dirk Nowitzki. Together with her teammates Sonja Greinacher, with whom she is now celebrating New Year’s Eve, Elisa Mevius and Marie Reichert, she won the first Olympic medal in the history of German basketball.
“Those scenes from Paris… At some point you really think: ‘Yes, I was there too. And I also have a medal like that.’ That’s absurd. I can’t realize that even at this moment.”
— Svenja Brunckhorst
The final at Place de la Concorde was Brunckhorst’s last appearance as an active basketball player. There’s certainly no better way to end a career – Brunckhorst agrees: “I could never have dreamed of that.”
New job, new city, new attention
The native of Rotenburg (Wümme) doesn’t get bored in her sports retirement: “A lot of people talk about the hole after the Olympics,” says Brunckhorst, but that didn’t come up for her, “because I simply had to switch to my job very quickly.” Just eight days after the triumph in Paris, she was officially introduced to Bundesliga club Alba Berlin – as the new manager for girls’ and women’s basketball.
In addition to the work appointments, other events fill her calendar: an invitation from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Silver Laurel Leaf award) or visits to the red carpet and appearances as a speaker. “Since August there has hardly been a weekend where I am not at an event,” she says. Most recently in the election for athlete of the year. The title went – how could it be otherwise in a “year of superlatives” – to the 3×3 basketball players; in front of the Bundesliga and double winner Bayer Leverkusen.
“This visibility and media attention is of course an honor for us, but sometimes it’s a bit strange. I did exactly the same thing for the 20 years before that,” laughs Brunckhorst: “But you can see how big it is. It’s a bit big It’s special to be in this elite circle of Olympic champions.”
Two teams, two tickets and an emotional decision
It is the result of years of work: in 2006, Brunckhorst played in the Basketball Bundesliga for the first time. She played in Spain and France, but always returned to her first professional and home club Wasserburg, with whom she celebrated several championship and cup victories. The development player made her debut for the senior national team in 2013, at a time when German women’s basketball was second-rate. Nevertheless, the long-time DBB captain always stayed on the ball, even after she focused on 3×3 basketball.
“The qualification in February was the starting signal for a lot of things: for women’s basketball and for me. My personal, hard work came true. After that, my self-confidence increased extremely.”
— Svenja Brunckhorst about qualifying with the 5×5 team
As captain, Brunckhorst led both teams to historic qualification for the Olympic Games this year – and thus presented herself and Greinacher with a luxury problem. The players wanted to compete in both competitions in Paris, but the association demanded a decision.
“You have just achieved the greatest thing in your life and suddenly you have the hardest decision,” says Brunckhorst, who had many conversations during that time, including with her sports psychologist: “That was a difficult phase for me personally It was extremely difficult to choose one of such emotional stories.” Looking back, we can say that the decision for the 3×3 team was absolutely right in the truest sense.
Hype after the Olympics should be sustainable
For Brunckhorst, this also applies to her new job. She says her job description at German champions Alba Berlin is a “perfect fit”: “I’ve always been a player who has addressed a lot of things that need to be developed. And suddenly I have an opportunity to do so myself.”
In a position that didn’t exist before. That’s why a lot of things are still in the discovery phase, but she has a lot of freedom in designing her job and projects. The goal: to further strengthen girls’ and women’s basketball and ensure that the hype after the Olympics remains sustainable.
Annual financial statements in the snow
A big task. But first you have to take a deep breath. On vacation in the snow – among other things with her long-time companion and close friend Greinacher: “I’m happy that I can review everything with her,” says Brunckhorst, who has also set herself sporting goals for the time: learning to ski .
The fact that she couldn’t do that, even though she moved to the south with her parents at the age of ten, was “very crazy.” But her parents are North German and not skiers. “And later it was often in the contract that you weren’t supposed to ski or do extreme sports,” says Brunckhorst. “But that’s over now. Now I can do whatever I want.”
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Sports current | 12/30/2024 | 9:17 a.m
