Overview
- In a newly released BILD podcast, the 47-year-old said there were periods when she stopped eating, recalling she survived on "two salt sticks a day" and soon lacked the strength to complete training.
- She links the disorder’s onset in the mid-1990s to relentless pressure and the loss of private moments after becoming a national star at age 14.
- A 1997 motorcycle crash that broke her wrist provided a protective retreat from the spotlight, followed by therapy that addressed emotions, self-determination and self-acceptance rather than food alone.
- She says the condition persists today as a monitored warning signal that tells her to slow down and refocus on self-care when eating becomes difficult.
- Recent coverage, including an ARD documentary and new interviews, also notes her view that sport exposed how unsustainable the behavior was and that she never sought wealth or celebrity, only an Olympic title.