Denise Biellmann

Denise Biellmann
Biellmann (center) in November 1980
Personal information
Country represented	Switzerland
Born	(1962-12-11) December 11, 1962 (age 54) Zurich, Switzerland
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Coach	Heidi Biellmann (mother)
Retired	1981 (age 18)
Medal record Representing   Switzerland Ladies' Figure skating World Championships 1981 Hartford Ladies' singles European Championships 1981 Innsbruck Ladies' singles 1979 Zagreb Ladies' singles

Denise Biellmann (born December 11, 1962) is a Swiss professional figure skater. She was the European and World Champion in 1981 and won the Swiss Championships three times.

Born in Zurich, Biellmann won her first international championship in Belgium at age eight, and at eleven, she won the Swiss junior figure skating championships. At 14, she competed at the 1977 European Championships and placed second in the free skating portion of the competition.

At the age of 15, she was the first female skater to land the triple lutz in competition, which she performed for the first time at the 1978 European Championships. At the same event, she became the first woman to receive a 6.0 in technical merit, receiving the score from British judge Pauline Borrajo. She was 12th in figures, first in the free skate, and finished fourth overall.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, she performed poorly in compulsory figures, but she won the free skating event and placed fourth overall.

The Biellmann spin was named after her, although she did not invent the spin but popularized it. It was present in skating at least since the 1965 European Championships when Tamara Moskvina performed it. It remains the only figure skating spin to be officially named after a person in ISU regulations. Nevertheless, by the end of her ISU career, the spin was causing her back pain.

Biellmann retired from amateur competition at age 18, shortly after her win at the 1981 World Championships.