By Catherine Riener
The European Youth Olympic Festival, EYOF for short, is considered the Olympic Games for 13 to 17 year olds and is also used as a springboard for those for adults. The six-day multisport event takes place every two years. In 2022, the flame will be lit on Sunday in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. Twelve German judokas compete. The fact that Sara-Joy Bauer is allowed to hold up the German flag in the middleweight category up to 57 kilograms, she describes as a “huge honor. I am really proud to be able to take part in the EYOF.”
The Backnangerin is also very grateful for the support she received along the way. On the one hand from her parents, who offer her support, and on the other hand from the Backnang trainers and practice partners, who challenge her and thus help her to progress. Bauer draws her mental strength from this. For her, that is also the reason why training in the home club is still the top priority: “Meanwhile I also go to a lot of courses and train at the Olympic training center in Sindelfingen. But I see that as an addition to my training in Backnang.” The 16-year-old is a Backnang native, as it is written. She started judo at the TSG talent factory ten years ago. “At the same time as my younger sister,” she remembers, meanwhile her little brother is also there.
Bauer can already look back on a successful six months. In February, she won the international ranking tournament in Oensingen, Switzerland, in both the U18 and U21 age groups. She was first twice. In April, the young athlete started at her first European Cups. In the Czech Teplice she won third place and in Strasbourg there was even gold. In May she impressed in Bielsko Biala (Poland) and secured another gold medal after defeating Latvian Anna Gulite. “The European Cups are my highlights so far, I was able to take a lot from all three,” summarizes Bauer.
Three medals at the U18 European Cup
The fact that the TSG judo athlete made it onto the podium three times in three contested U18 European Cups, twice even to the top, is by no means as natural as her record would suggest. At the tournaments of the world tour of the international judo federation, several hundred high-performing judokas often start, who come mainly, but not exclusively, from the European area. After the successes, Bauer still hasn’t had enough. Your ambitions in a nutshell? “I definitely want to keep getting better.”
Playing for the TSG Backnang Bundesliga team, maybe even winning the title again with the reigning German champions, is one of the goals of the 16-year-old: “If coach Jens Holderle says I should join the team, I’ll come .” Until then, she will gain her first experience with the second division club VfL Sindelfingen and has not yet lost a fight for the team around coach Simon Kirsten.
Training both at the home club and at the Olympic base, competitions and courses, which are now increasingly taking place internationally, plus the league operations and all that parallel to everyday school life at the Tausgymnasium, clamp the competitive athlete enormously. When asked about the compensation for judo, the answer is surprisingly simple: no judo. “When I meet friends, neither school nor sport is an issue,” says Bauer, which helps to switch off. But sometimes the judo itself relaxes her. “If I’m having a bad day, the training helps me to clear my head.” And on a good day it’s all the more fun.
Change to the Cotta school
The balancing act between school and sport should soon be easier anyway. “After the summer holidays I’ll switch to the Cotta school,” says Bauer, meaning the elite sports school in Stuttgart. The grammar school offers competitive athletes, among other things, the opportunity to better coordinate training and lessons and to catch up on content that was missed due to sport quickly and easily. “It will be a relief,” hopes Bauer.
The Backnangerin would like to do her Abitur there. How it will continue after that is still open. A career with the Federal Police would be obvious in order to be able to continue to practice judo actively and at this level. Bauer knows: “It works for many judokas”, for example for her club mate Helena Grau or Luise Malzahn, who placed fifth in the Olympics. But she’s not quite sure yet: “Maybe I’d like to study too.”
Club colleague and Olympic starter Katharina Menz, who did her bachelor’s degree in mechatronics/electrical engineering in 2016 and is named by the Württemberg Judo Association as a success story of the dual career, proves that studying can also be combined with top-class sport. Regardless of where you are going professionally, Bauer is certain in sport: “I want to play at the top with the adults.”
She is also aiming for participation in the Olympic Games: “For me, that would be one of the greatest successes that I can still achieve alongside the World Championships.” In addition, the EYOF is preparing the backnanger for that. She cannot yet name a specific year for the Olympic participation. It doesn’t have to be, because there will still be a few opportunities to do so.
