Germany's Birgit Schweigert has a new skill under her belt - a triple A, her mother Theodora told Gymworld. However, this trick might be worth more in the real world than in the gym - Schweigert recently scored an A in each of her three A-Levels (Maths, Economics and German) and is planning on entering Universtity College of London (UCL) this autumn. "Birgit will study Economics and Philosophy there," Theodora Schweigert said," she was offered an interview the day after she received her A-Level results and didn't hesitate for a second." The 20-year-old , who is from Bergisch Gladbach, moved to Great Britain two years ago to live, study and train, just a year short of graduating from German highschool. She passed her A/S Level in Theatre Studies last year. "Of course it was a gamble given the fact that she more or less had her Abitur (German highschool graduation exam - author's note) under her belt," her mother commented, "but looking back the timing was right. It also helped her overcome her disappointment over not being selected for the Olympics." .

After the German team failed to qualify to the Sydney Olympics -they finished 15th at the 1999 Tianjin World Championships - the National Olympic Committee declined to fill the two individual berths granted by the FIG. Despite a good showing at the 2000 European Championships in Paris, Schweigert and team mate Dagmar Fehrenschild had to stay home. After spending her first year in boarding school, Birgit switched to a normal day school and moved into a flat with her brother. She has a commute of a hour to the gym, where she is coached by Vladimir Aksenov, but found time for daily training all through studying for her A-Levels. More importantly, she even managed to watch every single World Cup match! Ankle surgery has kept Schweigert out of competition since the Cottbus Grand Prix in March, but she is confidentally looking forward to making her comeback on the national and international scene

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