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Katarina Witt

Katarina Witt
14-01-10-tbh-260-katarina-witt.jpg
Witt 2014
Personal information
Country represented  East Germany (1977–1988)
 Germany (1994)
Born (1965-12-03) 3 December 1965 (age 51)
Staaken, East Germany
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Former coach Jutta Müller
Skating club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt
Retired 1988 and 1994

Katarina Witt (born 3 December 1965) is a retired German figure skater. Witt won two Olympic gold medals for East Germany, first at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and the second in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics. She is a four-time World champion (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) and twice World silver medalist (1982, 1986). A feat only equalled by Sonja Henie among female skaters, Witt won six consecutive European Championships (1983–1988). Her competitive record makes her one of the most successful figure skaters of all time.

Witt was born in Staaken in East Germany, just outside West Berlin, which is today part of Berlin. Her mother worked in a hospital as a physiotherapist and her father was a farmer. She went to school in Karl-Marx-Stadt (which today has reverted to its pre-war name of Chemnitz). There she attended Kinder- und Jugendsportschule, a special school for athletically talented children.

Witt represented the SC Karl-Marx-Stadt club for East Germany (GDR). Jutta Müller began coaching her in 1977. Witt trained six days a week, sometimes for seven hours a day with three hours spent on compulsory figures.

Witt made her first appearance in a major international competition at the 1979 European Championships, finishing 14th at the event. She placed on a major podium for the first time in 1982, winning silver at both the European and World Championships. The next season, she won her first European title but finished off the World podium in fourth place.


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