How and when did you get started in wrestling?

Together with my two sisters I started wrestling when I was six years old. My father knew a wrestling coach and at that time we came to practice two times a week just to play on the mat. 

How do people react when you tell them you are a wrestler?

Many people still think you have to be big and tall to do wrestling, which is wrong! Wrestling is for everyone at all sizes, boy or a girl. You just need to find a style that works for you and a way to use your own strengths. 

What’s your best memory of wrestling?

My first championship as a cadet. That was a huge thing for me when I was 13 years old. And also of course my gold medal at the senior world championship 2009.

Who has been the biggest inspiration during your life in wrestling?

The people, definitely the people. You will never get as close to anyone as the people in your own wrestling team. No one will ever understand you better, you laugh and you cry together.

What does being part of the Olympic family mean for women’s wrestling?

Being a part of the Olympic family means everything for women's wrestling. For example it makes it easier for me to get sponsors so that I can train two times a day and focus on how I can develop in my wrestling. Women's wrestling has getting so much better since the Olympic status and the level is definitely higher. 

What advice would you give to girls who want to start wrestling today?

Just go for it. You will have so much fun and the friends you make you will have for the rest of your life. These days the women's wrestling have so much opportunities and it is only getting better and better. I think the future is very bright for women's wrestling. Now I'm only hoping to see more coaches and more women in more positions outside the mat as well.