Mandy Wötzel

Mandy Wötzel
Mandy Wötzel with Axel Rauschenbach in 1988
Personal information
Country represented	Germany East Germany
Born	(1973-07-21) 21 July 1973 (age 43) Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
Height	1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
Former partner	Ingo Steuer Axel Rauschenbach
Former coach	Monika Scheibe
Skating club	Eislaufverein Chemnitz
Retired	1998
Medal record Representing  Germany Figure skating: Pairs Olympic Games 1998 Nagano Pairs World Championships 1997 Lausanne Pairs 1996 Edmonton Pairs 1993 Prague Pairs European Championships 1997 Paris Pairs 1996 Sofia Pairs 1995 Dortmund Pairs 1993 Helsinki Pairs Grand Prix Final 1997–98 Tokyo Pairs 1996–97 Hamilton Pairs 1995–96 Paris Pairs Representing  East Germany European Championships 1989 Birmingham Pairs

Mandy Wötzel (born 21 July 1973) is a German former pair skater who represented East Germany and later Germany in international competition. With partner Ingo Steuer, she is the 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1997 World champion, the 1995 European champion, and a four-time German national champion.

Mandy Wötzel was born 21 July 1973 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, East Germany. She married an Australian in 2007 and moved the same year to Australia.

Wötzel began skating as a child. She skated for the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was renamed to SC Chemnitz after German reunification. Her first partner was Axel Rauschenbach. The pair won the silver medal at the 1989 European Championships. Rauschenbach's skate blade struck Wötzel's head in 1989 while they were performing side-by-side camel spins. She was in hospital for three months and missed half a year of school. Wötzel and Rauschenbach competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where they finished 8th. Following the season, Rauschenbach ended their partnership to work at a bank.

Ingo Steuer, who had been without a partner during 1991–1992 season, trained at the same rink as Wötzel, and under the same coach, Monika Scheibe. Scheibe initially hesitated to put Wötzel and Steuer together due to doubts about whether their personalities would work well together but she was persuaded after seeing their tryout. After less than a year together, Wötzel/Steuer won the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 World Championships. Both were accepted into the of the German army, supporting athletes.