The Deutscher Turner-Bund announced earlier today the selection for the 2014 World Championships team.

DTB named 2014 national champion Kim Bui of MTV Stuttgart to the team along with Sophie Scheder (TuS Chemnitz-Altendorf), Pauline Schäfer (TV Pflugscheid-Hixberg), Cagla Akyol (KTG Heidelberg), and Lisa Katharina Hill (MTV Stuttgart) as five of the six members. Germany was originally planning on sending Janine Berger, but their plans were derailed after Berger tore her ACL while attempting a tsuk double full on vault at German Championships over the weekend.

The final spot is between Elisabeth Seitz of TG Mannheim and new senior Leah Griesser of TG Neureut, both of whom were unable to compete at nationals due to injury. Seitz, who injured her foot last week after sitting out most of the year with an elbow injury, wasn’t expected to be included in the decision but with Berger out, German head coach Ulla Koch expressed her need for Seitz on the team.

“With the sudden loss of Janine, a new situation has arisen, causing problems especially on the uneven bars,” says Koch. “Elisabeth is here to support the team, but we must first make sure she can demonstrate her ability to compete. Of course, her recovery is our top priority, so we will make the decision with the stress of training on Elisabeth’s foot in mind.”

Shortly after the five team members were announced, Seitz took to Facebook to announce her inclusion on the team, stating: “World Championships 2014 – I’m on the team – 10000% motivated.”

DTB shared her status, adding “Go Eli – wir drücken die Daumen, dass es doch noch klappt!” which loosely translated means they’re crossing their fingers hoping it all works out in the end.

They haven’t officially named either Seitz or Griesser at this point, but seem hopeful that Seitz will be able to compete at least on bars in Nanning, though vault seems to be the real problem, as it was Berger’s largest contribution to the team.

Article by Lauren Hopkins