Fresh Face Friday - Germany's Janine Berger

Quick Facts : 
Name - Janine Berger
D.O.B. - April 21, 1996 (Senior in 2012)
Gym/Club - Iz-Ulm, SSV-Ulm 1846
Coaches - Gabor Szücs and Krisztina Prémuz




Janine Berger is a rising senior who trains in Ulm, Germany, which is about halfway between Augsburg and Stuttgart. She trains with 6 other girls for a little over 30 hours a week.

At this summer's European Olympic Youth Festival, Janine helped her team to win the Bronze medal. She's the 15 year old champion of Germany, and her AA Score places 5th amongst all age eligible German Gymnasts.

Janine really shines on her favorite event, Vault. She won the event at the European Youth Olympic Festival with a Tsukahara Full and a Handspring Rudi. Her 14.25 score would have qualified her in 6th to the Vault Finals at this year's World Championships and just may earn her a spot on the Olympic Team!

Here's a Q&A with Janine - 

How did you begin Gymnastics?
I began gymnastics when I was 4 because I was in a dance group and I wanted to do some special things like a back handspring. Because of this my parents enrolled me in gymnastics.


What do you see as your biggest strengths and weaknesses? 
My strengths are my springiness and my ability to stay calm. My biggest weakness is beam but I'm working on it so I can be strong on all events. 


How would your coaches describe you? 
My coaches would describe me as very eager, a little bit stubborn and sometimes very funny. 


What gymnasts do you look up to? 
My favorite gymnast at the moment is Jordyn Wieber, but my idol is Shawn Johnson. 


Can you tell a funny or embarrassing gymnastics story?
Once, I tried to start my beam routine and I fell during the mount. I didn't want to continue the routine, so I left! 

All Photos are property of Janine Berger. Some answers were rephrased without changing the meaning to better handle the language difference.