Die Routinen - 45 Sekunden

"The Routines" dissects a world of competitive sport that everyone knows is tough, but no one sees or wants to see how exploitative a system that has so much glitz and glamor sprayed on it is. For Amik, every gram counts, every competition, every repetition. And she accepts every limit she crosses and bows to the competitive principles of her sport. In a powerful way, Son Lewandowski tells of sport and politics, of fragile relationships and the limits of one's own ageing body, as well as the biggest abuse scandal in the history of sport. She talks to Kim Bui, a three-time Olympic gymnast. However, her career has included hardship, pain and illnesses such as bulimia. In her book "45 Seconds", she vividly describes the willpower it takes to train day after day for a competition that only lasts 45 seconds. Son Lewandowski, born in 1988, is an author and curator living in Cologne. Kim Bui, born in 1989 in Tübingen as the child of refugees from Vietnam and Laos, lives in Stuttgart.

Supported by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, Literature Summer 2026