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East German Women Figure Skaters
Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, there has been a noticeable dearth of top German figure skaters, particuarly skaters from the former German Democratic Republic. For more than twenty years, there was usually one top East German woman figure skater on the World and/or Olympic podium.
<span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Gabrielle Seyfert</strong></span>, the daughter of the renowned coach Mrs. Muller, was the World silver medalist for and Olympic silver medalist from 1966-1968 (all behind Peggy Fleming of the US). Gaby won the World title in 1969 and 1970, then retired as a competitor. I remember seeing Gaby compete against Peggy. While Gaby wasn't overly graceful or artistic, she was a delightful skater - exhuberant, strong jumps, and a bubbling personality.
The next East German woman to emerge as a world-class figure skater was <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Christine Errath</strong></span>, who won the World bronze medal in 1973 and 1975, the World title in 1974, the World silver medal in 1976, and Olympic bronze in 1976. Christine was a very sturdy skater - not very polished - but a strong athlete on skates. She had a habit of standing at the center of the ice at the end of her performances, with arms akimbo and staring at the judges, almost as if demanding them to give her good scores.
<span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Annet Poetzsch</strong></span> of East Germany and Linda Fratianne of the US traded World titles for several years, with Annet winning the gold medal in 1978 and 1980 and Linda winning the title in 1977 and 1979. Annet became the first East German woman to win the Olympic figure skating gold medal, in 1980, under a somewhat controversial decision. While she won fairly and squarely, according to the then-judging system, she had won the school figures, was fourth in the short program and only third in the long program, so she wasn't the strongest free skater in the field. Annet married and divorced Katarina Witt's brother.
And, of course, <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Katarina Witt</strong></span> of the GDR was a skating superstar. She won World silver medals in 1982 and 1986, and World titles in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Katarina became the first woman since Sonja Henie to win consecutive Olympic gold medals, in 1984 and 1988. Kat also was a 6-time European champion. After Katarina won her last World title, she returned to East Germany and was able to convince the powers that be to give her permission to skate professionally outside of the GDR. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, she was truly free to pursue her skating career on her own terms.
Since then, there has been only one German woman figure skater on the World podium - <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Tanja Szewczenko</strong></span>, in 1994.
I read an interesting story concerning the East German sports machine that spoke of the incentive these athletes had to excel in their particular fields - international travel, some money, cars, apartments, and other privileges not available to the average citizen of the GDR. Katarina Witt, when asked whether she thought it was "fair" for her to live at a higher style than her countrymen, defended her lifestyle. She said,
"I've brought honor to my country. I think I deserve these things because I've done something special. I don't want to be on the same level as the average factory worker."
While Kat did live at a higher standard than many in her country, she was hardly rich at that time, at least by Western standards. Two very small apartments, one of those hideous GDR cars that had "lemon" written all over it, and a small stipend for a salary. Still, it was all relative - she did have a higher standard of living than the average factory worker.
Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, there has been a noticeable dearth of top German figure skaters, particuarly skaters from the former German Democratic Republic. For more than twenty years, there was usually one top East German woman figure skater on the World and/or Olympic podium.
<span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Gabrielle Seyfert</strong></span>, the daughter of the renowned coach Mrs. Muller, was the World silver medalist for and Olympic silver medalist from 1966-1968 (all behind Peggy Fleming of the US). Gaby won the World title in 1969 and 1970, then retired as a competitor. I remember seeing Gaby compete against Peggy. While Gaby wasn't overly graceful or artistic, she was a delightful skater - exhuberant, strong jumps, and a bubbling personality.
The next East German woman to emerge as a world-class figure skater was <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Christine Errath</strong></span>, who won the World bronze medal in 1973 and 1975, the World title in 1974, the World silver medal in 1976, and Olympic bronze in 1976. Christine was a very sturdy skater - not very polished - but a strong athlete on skates. She had a habit of standing at the center of the ice at the end of her performances, with arms akimbo and staring at the judges, almost as if demanding them to give her good scores.
<span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Annet Poetzsch</strong></span> of East Germany and Linda Fratianne of the US traded World titles for several years, with Annet winning the gold medal in 1978 and 1980 and Linda winning the title in 1977 and 1979. Annet became the first East German woman to win the Olympic figure skating gold medal, in 1980, under a somewhat controversial decision. While she won fairly and squarely, according to the then-judging system, she had won the school figures, was fourth in the short program and only third in the long program, so she wasn't the strongest free skater in the field. Annet married and divorced Katarina Witt's brother.
And, of course, <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Katarina Witt</strong></span> of the GDR was a skating superstar. She won World silver medals in 1982 and 1986, and World titles in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Katarina became the first woman since Sonja Henie to win consecutive Olympic gold medals, in 1984 and 1988. Kat also was a 6-time European champion. After Katarina won her last World title, she returned to East Germany and was able to convince the powers that be to give her permission to skate professionally outside of the GDR. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, she was truly free to pursue her skating career on her own terms.
Since then, there has been only one German woman figure skater on the World podium - <span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Tanja Szewczenko</strong></span>, in 1994.
I read an interesting story concerning the East German sports machine that spoke of the incentive these athletes had to excel in their particular fields - international travel, some money, cars, apartments, and other privileges not available to the average citizen of the GDR. Katarina Witt, when asked whether she thought it was "fair" for her to live at a higher style than her countrymen, defended her lifestyle. She said,
"I've brought honor to my country. I think I deserve these things because I've done something special. I don't want to be on the same level as the average factory worker."
While Kat did live at a higher standard than many in her country, she was hardly rich at that time, at least by Western standards. Two very small apartments, one of those hideous GDR cars that had "lemon" written all over it, and a small stipend for a salary. Still, it was all relative - she did have a higher standard of living than the average factory worker.