Portrait: The female boxer Silke Weickenmeier
SILKE WEICKENMEIER IS ...
... powerful: Well, that's to be expected from a thirteen times world boxing champion. But with Silke Weickenmeier, the fighting nature seems to be particularly pronounced. Barely out of diapers, she began to be interested in the boxing fights of her father. "At some point I tried it myself - and did not take off the boxing gloves," she recalls. At the age of six, she became German champion in her age group for the first time; in point-fighting. "In this sport you fight like kickboxing with your hands and feet, but you can only touch lightly." But Silke Weickenmeier liked the harder pace in the long term better. At 16, she decided for a professional boxing career.
... a pioneer: While male pugilists have been revered and admired since antiquity, women have long had a shadow boxing experience. Only in the last ten years did charismatic fighters like Silke Weickenmeier or Regine Halmich make the public aware of women boxing. "An important point in my career was my victory in the first German Championship for professional boxers in 1997," says Weickenmeier. From then on, she was also allowed to participate in European and World Championships and aroused the media interest. Today she fights in front of 8000 spectators - and is a role model for many junior female boxers. "It's nice to see more and more young girls register in the boxing schools."
... enterprising: Silke Weickenmeier is aware that she can not live forever from boxing. That's also why she took the 16-month break. "I had to realize what my life after competitive sport should look like." The idea was not long in coming: within a very short time she built an arena for events and sports courses in her hometown Speyer. "I wanted to create a sports facility for everyone without the constraints of club and competitive sports," she says. The business is going well, but in the next few years, boxing is still a priority.
... fast: Silke Weickenmeier's great role model is the boxer Oscar de la Hoya. "I like his nimble footwork." Apparently she has watched him well, because also Weickenmeier sets their opponents above all by their speed. The boxing scene also missed her the appropriate nickname: "The Jet".
... family-friendly: Even the best individual fighter needs a strong team in the background. And that's her family for Silke Weickenmeier. Father Siggi has been training and caring for her since she was a child, and her relatives also helped to build up her sports arena. "Without my family, I would never have made it this far," says Weickenmeier.
... involved: And if work and training are so exhausting - Silke Weickenmeier always has time for social projects and fundraisers. "I'm lucky enough to be healthy," she explains. "And I want to give something of that happiness to people who are not feeling well." Most recently, she participated with the charity label in the marketing and compilation of the book "Promintente (s) cook", in which 54 celebrities from politics, film, television, sports and music present their favorite recipes. The proceeds go completely to the German bone marrow donor file. Weickenmeier, an avid amateur cook, also contributed a recipe: "I have pork fillet with rice."
