Author and FAZ journalist Evi Simeoni has died

Evi Simeoni chose to take her own life—with determination and resolve—when her suffering from illness became too much for her to bear, when all hope of a bearable life had vanished. She still had the strength and courage to end it on her own terms. Her husband, her friends, her colleagues, and the many people she informed, entertained, and accompanied through her journalistic work are left stunned by this loss. She was 68 years old.

After graduating from high school, Evi Simeoni began her journalistic career at the *Stuttgarter Zeitung* and moved to the sports desk of the *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung* in 1981, where she remained for 40 years until her retirement. Even as a young editor, she made a name for herself as an incorruptible and empathetic observer of sporting events and their participants, not only in equestrian sports but also in wrestling, rowing, weightlifting, and other sports. She analyzed the often inscrutable ways of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its officials with a critical eye. She was afraid of no one and earned the respect and recognition of those she covered.

Obsessed with detail as she was, she preferred to double-check and triple-check before crafting a text in her elegant, masterful style. Her keen intuition for people—and, over time, for horses as well—allowed her to perceive and express things that remained hidden from others who were quick to judge. She despised sensationalism, but she had an unerring instinct for stories that needed to be told, and she told them in her own way.

Anyone who engaged in a conversation with her knew they would be taken seriously, treated fairly, given a chance to present their point of view, and not made to look foolish just to elicit hollow applause. Many of her interview subjects opened up to Evi Simeoni as they had never done with any journalist before, which often gave her profiles a special, sensitive quality.

She covered the Olympic Games, world championships, and IOC sessions, and shaped the style of the FAZ sports section more than almost anyone else. In 1981, she was awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize; in 2004, she received the “Silbernes Pferd” media award; and in 2022, she was awarded the Silver Equestrian Cross by the German Equestrian Federation (FN). In 1996 and 2012, she was named Sports Journalist of the Year.

In addition to her day-to-day work as a journalist, she found time to write several books. Two of her novels explore the dark side of sports. “Schlagmann” is about a rower who slips into a deadly case of anorexia, while “Rückwärtssalto” is about a gymnast struggling with the demands of her overly ambitious circle. The other side of the coin has always been a theme for her as well. In 2023, the book “Höllenjahre” was published, an adaptation and commentary on her uncle’s letters from the front lines during World War II.

Her greatest challenge—and at the same time her greatest joy—toward the end of her professional career, however, were likely the two books she co-authored with dressage icon Isabell Werth: *Four Hooves Carry My Soul* and *What Kind of Person Is My Horse?*. There, two kindred spirits had found each other—the eloquent journalist and the spirited top athlete—who offered insights into the “soul” of these four-legged stars that had never been seen before. Every horse wants to be seen as an individual, each to be understood in its own way; every one deserves our respect and affection—that was the message that resonated, not just with horse people.

Those of us who, like me, were lucky enough to be her friend have lost more than just an exceptional journalist. What remains are memories of long conversations by the fireplace, trying to save the world; of endless drives and flights across the globe to some championship or another; of sleepless nights due to jet lag; of teamwork during interviews and research; and of the reminder: “We’ll have to double-check that.”

We have lost a deeply loyal person with a sensitive soul, a sharp mind, straightforward reasoning, and incredible strength—strength that never left her until her very last breath.

Gabriele Pochhammer