Countdown to the Games
0 DAYS
0 HRS
0 MINS
0 SECS
19-24 June 2022
News

Our youngest athlete is a true ray of sunshine

In the photo there is a group of girls with their coach. They are a vaulting team competing at the National Games in Berlin. Their youngest team member Judith Sonnenschein is smiling in the very front.
Nationale Sommerspiele 2022, Berlin, 22.06.2022 Leichtathletik Weitsprung Maike Wilbois (740) Foto: LOC/camera4

Judith Sonnenschein is competing at the National Games in vaulting. With 8 years she is our youngest athlete. And for sure: her name "Sonnenschein" - which means "sunshine" in German - is just perfect for her!

Done. Judith Sonnenschein is overjoyed when she completed her exercises on the horse. She dismounts, starts running and quickly lines up again next to the other athletes of her club.

Everyone is happy that she has completed her almost one-minute routine with flying colors. She is the last starter from her team of the Reit- und Pony-Club Düsseldorf e.V. (RPC) this morning at Unified Vaulting.

Judith is a very special athlete at the National Games in Berlin: she is our youngest participant. She came to Berlin together with her team and father Peter Sonnenschein.

"It is nice here," she says after the competition, happy and cuddling up close to her father. He explains how the eight-year-old came to vaulting.

On the photo is the youngest participant of the National Games in Berlin while vaulting. Judith Sonnenschein is wearing a pink suit and glasses.

It all started with equine-based occupational therapy. "She really enjoyed it. And at some point she shouted 'faster, faster' and we realized that she should definitely keep doing it," says Peter Sonnenschein.

Looking out for each other, achieving something together, that's what Judith learns from vaulting.
Peter Sonnenschein
Father of our youngest athlete at the National Games

Judith started vaulting in May 2021, and at the end of last year the idea of preparing her for the National Games came up.

"She has been training once or twice a week for that," says her father. For him, the sport is important and, above all, that his daughter is part of a team. "This togetherness is good for everyday life. Looking out for each other, achieving something together, that's what Judith learns from vaulting," he says.

The photo shows Judith Sonnenschein's vaulting group lined up together with their coach before the competition. Everyone is wearing a pink suit and standing very elegantly.

In the spirit of Unified Sports®, his daughter's team includes athletes with and without disabilities: "Everyone is who they are, and together they are successful."

Judith competes in two Unified Team competitions and has been busy all week. She also went to watch table tennis, handball and bocce with her father - that's all the time she had.

Except... Peter Sonnenschein asks his daughter what else she liked in Berlin. She shakes her head and won't say. "It was the athletes' party at the Brandenburg Gate," he says. "Do you like to dance?" Judith smiles and a long and happy "yeeeeeeees" follows.

 
A part of Judith's performance can be watched here:

0:00 / 0:00
Video Companion
Judith Sonnenschein_Voltigieren.mp4

Share

Recent news

The summer journey of our Faces of the Games

19 July 2022, 10:24
It was barely a month ago that the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in Berlin was filled with joy: The Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics National Games Berlin 2022 and our "Faces of the Games" Robert Herberg and Lilly Binder right in the middle of it.

Volunteers at #Berlin2022: You are the best!

05 July 2022, 13:07
It is no secret that major sporting events like the National Games Berlin 2022 depend on volunteers. Their reasons for showing up are as varied as their countries of origin. We want to say thank you once again and learn a little more about some of our volunteers and their experiences.

Fresh memories, a recap and anticipation for #Berlin2023

26 June 2022, 12:37
After six days of competition at the National Games, athletes and officials as well as coaches, volunteers and visitors look back on a great atmosphere with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of openly shown joy.