Thümmler's career was ended at the age of 16 from back pain.[3] She worked as a restaurant clerk, but had to retire at age 38 due to ill health, in part caused by the effects of forced state-sponsored doping.[3][4] Her stepfather, Manfred Thümmler, was head of sports medicine at SC Dynamo Berlin and a defendant in a 1999 doping trial, though his charges were dropped.[3]