THOMAS SCHRE YER ( 6)
Abel, Willing in Utah
2008 German Olympian Katja Abel (left) and former Berlin training partner Gritt Hoffmann Batchelor (right) struck a beautiful balance at Antelope Island
State Park during Abel’s visit to Utah this summer. Abel,
who is studying applied media science at the University of
Technology Ilmenau in Germany, enjoyed doing a radio
internship, coaching at a club and writing a guest editorial
titled “Berlin Meets Salt Lake City” for a local paper during
her visit.
“What I really appreciate and admire is also the service
in general here,” Abel said of Utah. “It’s not common in
Germany to get a warm welcome when you enter a store, for
example. Americans, on the other hand, make a greater
effort to make one feel comfortable.” (Hoffmann Batchelor,
who placed 14th all-around at the 1998 European championships and later competed for Utah, is a designer for an
architecture firm in Salt Lake City.)
Katja Abel, Gritt Hoffmann Batchelor
PHO TO SUPPLIED
