She decided to continue specializing in the 800 metres in 1999, but fared worse in both events with season's best times of 2:00.76 minutes and 56.29 seconds respectively. She then reverted to the hurdles. She was soon back in the 54-second range, running in 54.84 seconds in July 2000. Third qualified her for the 2000 Olympic Games, but she only reached the semi-final there. In 2002, however, she returned to the medal podium as she won the silver medal at the 2002 European Championships with a time of 55.89 seconds. As in 1998, this achievement qualified her to represent Germany at the 2002 World Cup, where she finished seventh. The same year she ran the distance of 400 metres without hurdles at the ISTAF meet in Berlin, finishing in 53.19 seconds. This equalled the personal best mark she had achieved during the 2001 indoor season.