She started her career at TSV Katzwang 05. She achieved her first successes as a junior at regional championships in southern Germany. In 2002 and 2003 she won titles in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle in her year at both the German championships and the European junior championships . In 2003 she was awarded the Bavarian Sports Prize in the “Outstanding Young Athlete” category, and in the same year the six-time European junior champion started in Barcelona for the first time at world championships and reached the semi-finals in the 50 m freestyle. At the age of 16, she qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens . There she won the Season 4 × 100m medley bronze medal and received on 16 March 2005, the Silver Laurel Leaf. After the successful appearance in Athens, she switched to SSG 81 Erlangen . This change and the separation from her trainer Christian Brandner caused quite a stir. At the German Championships in Berlin in 2005 , she won the finals of the 100 m freestyle and qualified for the 2005 World Swimming Championships with a time of 54.94 seconds . In Montréal , she won the silver medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and the bronze medal in 4 × 100 m medley. At the European Championships in Budapest in 2006 , she won gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay in a new world record time of 3: 35.22 minutes.
↑ Press release of the Office of the Federal President of March 16, 2005 .... Awarding of the Silver Laurel Leaf to the medal winners of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games ...
Germany
