Anett Pötzsch

Anett Pötzsch

Anett Pötzsch at the Blue Swords
Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, Berlin; 18 November 1979
Personal information
Country represented East Germany
Born (1960-09-03) 3 September 1960
Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Former coach Jutta Müller, Gabriele Seyfert, Brigitte Schellhorn
Retired 1980
Medal record
Representing  East Germany
Ladies' figure skating
Olympic Games
1980 Lake Placid Ladies' singles
World Championships
1980 Dortmund Ladies' singles
1978 Ottawa Ladies' singles
1979 Vienna Ladies' singles
1977 Tokyo Ladies' singles
European Championships
1980 Gothenburg Ladies' singles
1979 Zagreb Ladies' singles
1978 Strasbourg Ladies' singles
1977 Helsinki Ladies' singles
1976 Geneva Ladies' singles
1975 Copenhagen Ladies' singles
Anett Pötzsch at the German Nationals 2006

Anett Pötzsch (born 3 September 1960) is a German former figure skater. She is the 1980 Olympic champion, two-time World champion (1978, 1980), four-time European champion (1977–1980), and five-time East German champion (1976–1980).

Her first name is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Annett." The old East German newspapers always spelled it with a single 'n'.

Career

Pötzsch represented the GDR (East Germany) in the ladies events at international championships. Her first coach was Brigitte Schellhorn.[1] After Pötzsch was admitted into a sports academy, Gabriele Seyfert was assigned as her coach and later, Seyfert's mother, Jutta Müller, took over coaching duties.[1] She was the Olympic Champion in 1980 and world champion in 1978 and 1980. She also won the European title four times, from 1977 to 1980; and the East German title five times, from 1976 to 1980. In 1981, she announced her retirement, saying in 2011, "I had knee problems and I was not motivated because I had reached all my goals" but she said she later regretted her decision.[1]

Pötzsch was a judge at international skating events in the late 1980s but the ISU banned her after she appeared in Skates of Gold shows and Katarina Witt's film, Carmen.[1] The ISU restored her eligibility in 1994, along with that of professional skaters.[1] In the 1990s, Pötzsch worked at a bank but quit her job in 1999 in order to coach.[1] She coaches in Chemnitz, Germany, and in 2004 became an ISU technical specialist.[1] Her students include Daniel Dotzauer, the 2010 German Championships bronze medalist, and Sandy Hoffmann.

Personal life

Pötzsch was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, GDR (today renamed Chemnitz, Germany). She married Axel Witt, the brother of fellow German figure skater Katarina Witt, but the couple divorced in 1990.[1] Their daughter, Claudia Rauschenbach, born in 1984, is the 2000 German pair skating champion with Robin Szolkowy.[1] In 1993, Pötzsch married Axel Rauschenbach, who is the father of her second daughter, Cindy, and stepfather to Claudia.[1]

Results

Event 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81
Winter Olympics 4th 1st
World Championships 14th 11th 8th 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st
European Championships 8th 7th 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
Blue Swords 4th 5th 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
Prague Skate 2nd
Golden Spin 1st
Skate Canada 2nd
East German Championships 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kany, Klaus-Reinhold (May 6, 2011). "Anett Pötzsch: Germany's First Golden Girl". IFS Magazine.
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