Tina Punzel has fun diving again. And she still wants to prove that in Budapest. She also has a new task in the team: The young jumpers need their experience.
There are moments that an athlete would like to forget quickly. As with Tina Punze:. The currently most successful active German water jumper had to digest an unplanned fifth place in the World Championship decision in the synchronous mixed from the three-meter board with Lou Massenberg.
As a bronze medalist at the last World Championships, the goal was again precious metal, but the performances were too flawed for that. But the fact is, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in synchronized jumping from the three-meter board with Lena Hentschel, she will be able to cope.
In the German team everyone is now looking at Punzel. The Dresdener is the most experienced athlete in the team. “I’m expected to jump at the front,” said the 26-year-old. But eventually the pressure became too much.
The restart was not easy for Punzel
After the 2021 Olympics, she retired. “It was clear to me that after my last Olympic competition on August 1, I didn’t want to see a swimming pool anymore,” said Punzel. She just didn’t feel like jumping anymore. She thought a lot about how to proceed, whether sport is still an option and if so, what goals she should set herself.
“And so I only started training again in January and had more fun than I had in a long time,” reported the European water jumper of the year 2021. She had decided not to force herself to do anything, not to prove anything to anyone. “I’ve learned to appreciate competitive sport again and I’m enjoying it now.”
However, the restart was not easy. “My body didn’t accept the training as I had hoped, I was often ill,” reported Punzel. But the experience helped her.
«Tina is going ahead now»
There will no longer be saddled up with the difficulty of their jumps. «It is important to automate everything now. I want stability, where there are no outliers down, but maybe up, “said Punzel, who otherwise sees a main task in taking the young jumpers by the hand. “Nora Subschinski and Christin Steuer used to do that to me too. I’m happy that I can now pass on my experience,” said Punzel.
“Tina is now leading the way, she is now our active spokeswoman and is always in dialogue with me when it comes to the team,” said national coach Lutz Buschkow about the new leader wolf in the team, who took over the tasks from the retired record European champion Patrick Hausding.
Punzel is relaxed about the fact that all competitions at international level before the World Cup were canceled due to Corona and the Ukraine war. “I was looking forward to many competitions. I think it’s a shame that it didn’t turn out that way. But it’s not dramatic either.” In the first World Championship competition, perhaps there was also a lack of competition practice.
Source: Stern
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