I started the class late. The teacher said I would have to learn as much in half a year that the others learned in a year. I did it.

I learned not to depend on other people. I needed support, but it's you who has to go out and deliver.

Sometimes I even now feel like a stranger in my country. But I knew there would be problems because I had seen the world as a skater. And now? A lot of people in eastern Germany have lost jobs, rents went up, food costs went up, unemployment went to 20 percent. Freedom is good, but it is not easy.

I can't say, 'It doesn't matter if you win or lose.' It's not true. You go in to win.

It's not like I didn't do anything for 10 years and chose a new profession. I've been on the ice a lot. I'm not an outsider.

The desire to really compete again has been there for a long time.