Britta Heidemann
Épée fencer
My passion for football: The courageous elite athlete, committed to many causes beyond the world of sport, refuses to compartmentalise the world around her, preferring to approach it holistically in all its complexity. The Cologne native thus fully appreciates the game’s significance, and especially the role played by women’s football, in Germany and the entire world.
I’m looking forward to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011™ because... "it will be a massive event with attractive, exciting top-level sport, and a joyful festival bringing people together, both for the athletes from around the world and spectators all over the globe. I’m convinced there will be enormous interest in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. I’m looking forward to packed stadiums, and I’ll be backing Germany to defend the trophy a second time, in front of a passionate home crowd.
Career highlights: Olympic gold at the Beijing games in 2008 represents the absolute career highlight to date for the student of Chinese regional science, who also speaks fluent Mandarin. She previously won the world épée fencing title in November 2007, qualifying at an early stage for the Olympics in China. Over the following months, Britta Heidemann’s diverse, balanced and interpretive commitment to Sino-German relations earned widespread recognition and praise.
