Tabea Alt, Elite German Artistic Gymnast, So Much Fun To Watch

Female sports in Germany is alive and well.

First we turn to tennis.

On December 18, 2016, as reported at dw.com, “Tennis star Angelique Kerber has wrapped up a fantastic year by claiming the sportswoman of the year prize. Kerber was the near-unanimous winner of the female vote, collecting 4,664 votes ahead of second-placed biathlete Laura Dahlmeier (1,940) and cyclist Kristina Vogel (1,845). The 28-year-old has enjoyed her most successful year on the tennis circuit and currently holds both the Australian Open and US Open titles.”

And now, drum roll please, let’s look in on gymnastics.

At the conclusion of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, The sensational German female gymnast Tabea Alt made her statement with a great performance.

Germany competed in the third subdivision of qualifications, starting on floor exercise. They qualified sixth into the team final and finished sixth in the final, the highest team placement for Germany since 1988.

Our star is technically an artistic gymnast.

She represents her nation at international competitions. She competed at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event. She helped her team qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing in second place.

Individually, she won bronze in the floor exercise. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, the German team finished 6th in the team all-around competition.

She made her international debut at the Dityatin Cup, winning bronze with her team and placing fourth on bars and floor, and sixth in the all-around and on vault. The following year she competed in a friendly meet against the USA and Romania, winning team silver and all-around bronze medals.

In 2014 she competed in a junior friendly against gymnasts from Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain, winning gold with her team and in the all-around. She competed at the European Championships, winning balance beam bronze, and placing fourth with her team and on uneven bars and fourteenth in the all-around.

During her 2015 campaign Ms. Alt won team bronze at the Austrian Team Open in late February, and went on to win the all-around at the German Junior National Championships in late March. In late May, she won team gold and all-around silver at the Flanders International Team Challenge in Ghent, Belgium.

In July, she competed in a friendly meet against gymnasts from Great Britain, Italy, and Brazil, winning balance beam gold, team silver, and placing fourth on vault and seventh in the all-around. Later that month, she competed at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia, winning team bronze, and placing fifth on bars, sixth on vault, and seventh in the all-around.

2016 was a spectacular year.

“The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.”… Doug Larson

Tabea made her senior international debut at the American Cup in New Jersey.

In April, she competed at the Olympic Test Event, winning team silver and helping Germany qualify a full team to the Olympics.

Applause!

She deserves it. According to database.fig-gymnastics.com she trains for 30 hours a week.

Individually, she won bronze in the all-around. In June, she won vault silver and placed fourth on bars, fifth in the all-around, and sixth on balance beam at the German National Championships. In July, she was named to the German team for the Olympics.

She went on to compete at a friendly meet against gymnasts from France, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, and Venezuela, winning team gold and placing fourth in the all-around.

Would you like to visit the village that helped shape Tabea?

Let’s travel to Ludwigsburg, Germany.

Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 7.5 miles north of Stuttgart city center, near the river Neckar.

It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants.

The area around Ludwigsburg had been a favored hunting grounds by the royal Württemberg family for generations before the founding of Ludwigsburg.

Very nice basics. Now for a closer look.

As welcomed at ludwigsburg.de, “The city of Ludwigsburg has many different faces. Ludwigsburg is one of the most prosperous economic centers in the state. It is home to 50 factories, 1200 craft-oriented and commercial companies and over 2000 wholesale and retail outlets. Accommodating a teachers’ training college, the University of Applied Sciences and the only film academy of the state, Ludwigsburg is also a center of education and media.

The greatest and best-preserved baroque palace in Germany is also situated in Ludwigsburg. The city is said to be the cradle of Swabian poetry and in the past the kings of Württemberg resided here.

Founded in the early 18th century, Ludwigsburg today is a place where history and the present meet. Magnificent castles, romantic gardens, bustling shopping streets and sensational festivals are waiting to be explored.

Come and experience the city’s incomparable flair!”

Okay will do. There are some unbelievable festivals there.

Here is one.

The fun site monkeysandmountains.com smiles, “The world’s largest pumpkin festival is home to some 400,000 pumpkins. It’s held each year in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located just 17 km north of Stuttgart.”

Sounds splendid.

Another informative site raveltips.usatoday.com expands, “The German city of Ludwigsburg hosts the largest pumpkin festival in the world, held annually from early September to November. Bringing in more than 400,000 pumpkins grown in southwest Germany, the city arranges them based on a theme that varies year by year. The festival includes more than 450 species of pumpkins, some of which are edible and others that are solely used for display purposes.

The German festival offers an array of pumpkin-flavored dishes, including pumpkin soups, “maultaschen” (ravioli), risotto, strudel and spaghetti. Visitors can also order pumpkin-flavored sparkling wine.”

This sounds like they are having way too much fun. Never under estimate the power of having fun.

Now for the icing on the pumpkin. The vibrant site kuerbisausstellung-ludwigsburg.de pronounces, “Set in 2015, the record for the most types of pumpkins and squash at a single show is 624 different varieties. We can’t wait to see if there will be even more in 2016. As of Saturday, September 10, the showcase will be ready to enthrall as many visitors as possible.”

Tabea is from a very fun place. No wonder she has a spring in her step and a bounce in her jump.

We love watching her and Germany is very proud of her.