Hannah Grunwald: Parchim's youngest becomes Speedways World Champion!

Hannah Grunwald: Parchim's youngest becomes Speedways World Champion!

What a rapid success for Hannah Grunwald! The 17-year-old speedway rider from Parchim recently won the FIM Women’s Gold Trophy in Croatia, securing the title of the fastest speedway rider in the world. With an impressive final run in which she left reigning champion Celina Liebmann behind, she triumphed at the largest all-female speedway event in the world, which took place in Donji Kraljevec. Nordkurier reports that her performance is the result of years of hard work and countless hours of training.

Hannah began her career in speedway at the age of six and often trained in Denmark. Her family, friends and especially her boyfriend Lucas Botzon support her tirelessly. “I can totally concentrate on my goals because I know I have so much support behind me,” she says. After a season full of unfortunate falls and mental stress, several days of training gave her new confidence.

A historic moment for women in motorsport

The FIM Women’s Gold Trophy was not only a significant competition for Grunwald, but also a historic moment for women’s motorsport as a whole. The event followed two days of training by the FIM Women’s Speedway Academy, led by the likes of Greg Hancock and Glen Phillips. Grunwald and Liebmann qualified for the final with 12 points each from their four runs. In the end, Hannah took home the gold medal, while Liebmann took silver and Jenny Apfelbeck secured third place. There were 13 riders in the 500cc class on the four-wheelers at the start, which created a lot of excitement. FIM Speedway highlights that the overall quality of the female racers has made a significant leap forward as a result of the event.

With her win, Grunwald now has the opportunity to take part in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP in Latvia on August 2nd. Her goals are ambitious: she wants to compete in the Polish or English league and continue to improve her skills. “I would like to help create more attention for women in German motorsport,” she says. After all, women often have to fight twice as hard to be recognized.

The path continues

From September 1st, Hannah will start training as an industrial clerk, but her passion for motorsport remains unbroken. “I will try everything to reconcile both,” she assures. Her recently won trophy symbolizes not only her talent and willpower, but also the tireless fight for more equality in motorsport.

Hannah Grunwald's future looks bright - both on and off the track. It will only be interesting to see how her career will develop and whether she will successfully make her way into the Polish Speedway League (Ekstraliga). A victory for German motorsport and a sign that it is possible for talented women in sport to reach the top.