Katarina Witt biography
Katarina Witt, (born December 3, 1965, Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany [now Chemnitz, Germany]), German determine skater who was the primary lady to win consecutive Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988) in singles determine skating since Sonja Henie in 1936. The charismatic Witt outlined the game within the Eighties along with her flirtatious and sleek performances. She received 4 world titles (1984–85 and 1987–88) and 6 European championships (1983–88).
Witt started skating at age 5 and shortly attracted the eye of East German sports activities officers, who positioned her within the nation’s particular coaching program. She practiced with Jutta Müller, one of many world’s premier figure-skating coaches, who inspired Witt to specific her partaking character on the ice. In 1981 Witt received her first main competitors, capturing the East German nationwide championship, a title she would maintain for the subsequent seven years.
Witt entered the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), as a favorite to medal though she had by no means received a world title. Coming from behind throughout her forte, the lengthy program, Witt defeated American Rosalynn Sumners by solely 0.1 level to seize the gold. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Witt confronted the one skater to have defeated her in 5 years, American Debi Thomas. Both girls skated to music from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen within the lengthy program, however Witt’s masterly interpretation of the heroine introduced a brand new model of sensual grace and theatre to the ice, and she or he retained the Olympic title.
After successful her last world championship in 1988, Witt retired from novice skating. In 1990 she starred within the tv particular Carmen on Ice, a efficiency that garnered her an Emmy Award. In the identical yr, Witt and Brian Boitano developed a skating present that toured the United States. She additionally toured with Stars on Ice and Champions on Ice. A change in Olympic guidelines allowed Witt to return to the ice on the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, the place she positioned seventh. She then returned to her touring schedule and entered {many professional} competitions. She additionally labored as a commentator at numerous nationwide and worldwide skating occasions.