- Joined
- Jun 18, 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anett_Pötzsch
Here's a link to a "wiki" write-up on Annet Potzsch, the East German figure skater who won the gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980. Potzsch was the first skater from then former GDR to win at the Olympics. She and Linda Fratianne traded World titles during the late 1970s, and Annet won at Lake Placid in a somewhat controversial decision. Her very high scores in the school figures gave her a cushion that Fratianne could not overcome -- despite the fact that Potzsch finished fourth in the short program and third in the free skate (compared to Fratianne's first in the short and second inthe long), Potzsch won the gold medal.
I'm sure many of us remember watching that competition on live television, and perhaps some of you were fortunate enough to have actually attended the competition. The audience was clearly disappointed at the result, as of course Fratianne was. Annet was a lovely, gracious champion, and shed a few tears of joy when her country's anthem was played at the medal ceremony.
Potzsch skated to the theme from "Funny Girl", while Fratianne skated to "Firebird". Both skated very well, in my view. After her victory, Annet spoke of the enormous pressure she had been put under by the East German Figure Skating Federation. It wasn't just enough for her to win an Olympic medal - she was expected to win the gold medal. Her coach, Jutta Mueller, gave her this "pep talk" -- "You must be strong. You must go for all of your jumps. You must win!"
Potzsch returned to East Germany after the 1980 Worlds, which she won, and retired from competition. There was no possibility for her to embark on a professional skating career, at least not in terms of the opportunities in the "West". She became a figure skating coach and judge, which was the route taken by most of the other retired GDR skaters. The big exception, of course, was Katarina Witt. Witt had the glamour, marketability, and the good fortune to come along just before the fall of the Berlin Wall - and the freedom to skate when and where she wanted to skate.
Potzsch was one of the featured skaters in "Skates of Gold", a wonderful made-for-TV program that featured a bevy of former Olympic champions. The last time she appeared in the program, she skated a "group" number with Peggy Fleming, Kristi Yamaguchi, and several others. She clearly could still skate, and she looked great on the ice.
Here's a link to a "wiki" write-up on Annet Potzsch, the East German figure skater who won the gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980. Potzsch was the first skater from then former GDR to win at the Olympics. She and Linda Fratianne traded World titles during the late 1970s, and Annet won at Lake Placid in a somewhat controversial decision. Her very high scores in the school figures gave her a cushion that Fratianne could not overcome -- despite the fact that Potzsch finished fourth in the short program and third in the free skate (compared to Fratianne's first in the short and second inthe long), Potzsch won the gold medal.
I'm sure many of us remember watching that competition on live television, and perhaps some of you were fortunate enough to have actually attended the competition. The audience was clearly disappointed at the result, as of course Fratianne was. Annet was a lovely, gracious champion, and shed a few tears of joy when her country's anthem was played at the medal ceremony.
Potzsch skated to the theme from "Funny Girl", while Fratianne skated to "Firebird". Both skated very well, in my view. After her victory, Annet spoke of the enormous pressure she had been put under by the East German Figure Skating Federation. It wasn't just enough for her to win an Olympic medal - she was expected to win the gold medal. Her coach, Jutta Mueller, gave her this "pep talk" -- "You must be strong. You must go for all of your jumps. You must win!"
Potzsch returned to East Germany after the 1980 Worlds, which she won, and retired from competition. There was no possibility for her to embark on a professional skating career, at least not in terms of the opportunities in the "West". She became a figure skating coach and judge, which was the route taken by most of the other retired GDR skaters. The big exception, of course, was Katarina Witt. Witt had the glamour, marketability, and the good fortune to come along just before the fall of the Berlin Wall - and the freedom to skate when and where she wanted to skate.
Potzsch was one of the featured skaters in "Skates of Gold", a wonderful made-for-TV program that featured a bevy of former Olympic champions. The last time she appeared in the program, she skated a "group" number with Peggy Fleming, Kristi Yamaguchi, and several others. She clearly could still skate, and she looked great on the ice.