From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (born 7 September
1966) is a former speed skater and the most successful
speed skater of all time. Born as Gunda Kleemann,
she changed her name to Gunda Niemann after her
marriage in 1991 to judoka Detlev Niemann. After their divorce
in 1995, she kept the name Niemann. She then changed her
name to Niemann-Stirnemann after marrying her long-time Swiss manager Oliver
Stirnemann on 11 July 1997.
Kleemann was born in Sondershausen, East Germany, but has lived in Erfurt for most of her life. The
speed skating oval in Erfurt (the
Gunda-Niemann-Stirnemann-Halle) was named after her.
Before the German reunification in 1990, she
skated for East Germany.
Niemann-Stirnemann dominated women's speed skating for several
years, especially on the longer distances. She has competed in four
Olympics, from 1988 to 1998, and won eight Olympic medals (3 gold,
4 silver, and 1 bronze). In the nine years from 1991 to 1999, she
won the World Allround
Championships every year except 1994. She has a record number
of 98 World Cup single distance
victories and has won 19 overall World Cup titles. She was European Allround
Champion 8 times. Over the course of her career, she set 18 world records. For her
performances, she received the Oscar Mathisen Award three times:
in 1995, 1996, and 1997.
Niemann-Stirnemann left speed skating in 2001 to give birth to a
daughter, but later returned to competition. She planned to make
one last comeback and participate in the 2006
Winter Olympics in Turin,
but a lingering back injury – which she suffered from since the
2004/2005 season – made her quit. At the end of October 2005, a few
days before the German Championships, she announced her
retirement.
Except for one day in March 1998, Niemann-Stirnemann was number
one in the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed
skating ranking, from 24 January 1993, until 2 March 2001 – a total
of 2,958 days.
World
records
Over the course of her career, Niemann-Stirnemann skated 18 world records:
Personal
records
To put these personal records in perspective, the last column
(WR) lists the official world records on the dates that
Niemann-Stirnemann skated her personal records.
Note that the 10000 m was suspended as a world record event
at the 1953 ISU Congress.
Niemann-Stirnemann has an Adelskalender score
of 160.167 points. Her highest ranking on the Adelskalender was the
first place.
Biography
- Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann: Ich Will. Traumkarriere mit
Tränen und Triumphen (2000). Das Neue Berlin.
External
links
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