I was the very first athlete in East Germany allowed to go professional.

I was an athlete. And I proved I didn't win just because I was pretty. I was good, too.

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

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.

When you're young, you don't think very far ahead. You just think in terms of the next day, the next week, the next competition. You don't think about injuries that could threaten your long-term health.