Susan Benike (born 14 September 1981) is a retired German

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and co ...

. She was part of the national senior group

Biography

Benicke won nine German national titles. In 1998 she was integrated into the national senior group, competing at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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along Selma Neuhaus, Jeanine Fissler, Anna Nölder,

Anne Jung Anne Jung (born 21 August 1981) is a German rhythmic gymnast. She competed in the women's group all-around event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1998 she competing at the World Championships in Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the c ...

and

Ellen Jackël Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress *Ellen A ...

, they finished 14th in the All-Around and 8th with 6 balls. In May 1999 she took 6th place in the All-Around, 5th place with 5 pair of clubs and 4th with 3 ribbons and 2 hoops with the group at the European Championships. At the

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

they were 5th in the All-Around, 5th with 10 clubs and 7th with 3 ribbons and 2 hoops, thus qualifying for the following year's Olympics. Susan and her teammates Friederike Arlt, Jeanine Fissler, Selma Neuhaus, Jessica Schumacher and Annika Seibel achieved a surprising fourth place at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, this was the best ever rhythmic gymnastics result in German Olympic history. After her retirement she competed in show dancing and won a silver medal at World Championships and two golds at Europeans. She later became a graduated sports teacher, yoga coach, and personal trainer in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benike, Susan Living people 1981 births German rhythmic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Germany Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Halle (Saale)