- Christa Luding
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Christa Luding Personal information Born December 4, 1959
Weißwasser, East GermanySport Country East Germany Sport Speed skating Medal recordCompetitor for East Germany Speed Skating Olympic Games Gold 1984 Sarajevo 500 m Gold 1988 Calgary 1,000 m Silver 1988 Calgary 500 m Bronze 1992 Albertville 500 m Track cycling Silver 1988 Seoul Sprint Christa Luding-Rothenburger (born 4 December 1959) is a former speed skater and track cyclist. She was born in Weißwasser, East Germany.
Contents
Short biography
Before the German reunification in 1990, Luding competed for East Germany – afterwards for Germany. For more than 10 years, she was one of the world's best sprinters in speed skating. At the World Sprint Championships in speed skating, she became World Champion twice (in 1985 and 1988), won silver twice (in 1986 and 1989), and won 4 bronze medals (in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1992). She has also won the 500 m World Cup 3 times (in 1986, 1988, and 1989) and the 1,000 m World Cup once (in 1988).
In 1980, she was convinced by her coach, Ernst Luding (whom she would marry after the 1988 Winter Olympics), to take up cycling during the off-season. Originally, she was told to stick to skating, but finally the president of the East German sports federation gave her permission to enter international cycling competitions. At the 1986 World Cycling Championships, she won track cycling gold in the women's sprint and silver the following year. This made her the second woman (after Sheila Young) to become World Champion in both speed skating and cycling.
In 1988, she earned the distinction of being the only athlete to win Summer and Winter Olympic medals in the same year. It also made her the first woman, and the third athlete overall, to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. At the Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada she won the gold medal in the 1,000 m speed skating event and silver in the 500 m. Seven months later, she won the silver medal in the (1,000 m) sprint in track cycling at the Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.
After winning a bronze medal at the 1992 World Sprint Championships (in which she was unable to win any of the 4 distances), Luding-Rothenburger ended her speed skating career.
Medals
An overview of medals won by Rothenburger at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:
Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal Speed skating Winter Olympics 1984 (500 m)
1988 (1,000 m)1988 (500 m) 1992 (500 m) World Sprint 1985
19881986
19891979
1983
1987
1992World Cup 1986 (500 m)
1988 (500 m)
1988 (1,000 m)
1989 (500 m)1986 (1,000 m)
1989 (500 m)German Sprint 1981
1982
1983
19921978
1979
19881977 German Single Distance 1980 (500 m)
1985 (500 m)
1986 (500 m)
1988 (500 m)
1989 (500 m)
1991 (500 m)
1991 (1,000 m)1980 (1,000 m)
1984 (500 m)
1986 (1,000 m)
1988 (1,000 m)
1989 (1,000 m)1983 (500 m)
1983 (1,000 m)
1984 (1,000 m)Track cycling Summer Olympics 1988 (Sprint) World Sprint 1986 1987 World records
Over the course of her career, Rothenburger skated 8 world records:
Distance Result Date Location 500 m 40.28 27 March 1981 Medeo 1,000 m 1:20.95 27 March 1981 Medeo 500 m 40.18 28 March 1981 Medeo Sprint combination 162.275 28 March 1981 Medeo 500 m 39.69 25 March 1983 Medeo Sprint combination 161.120 26 March 1983 Medeo 500 m 39.39 6 December 1987 Calgary 1,000 m 1:17.65 26 February 1988 Calgary Personal records
Distance Result Date Location 500 m 39.12 22 February 1988 Calgary 1,000 m 1:17.65 26 February 1988 Calgary 1,500 m 2:05.83 16 January 1988 Davos 3,000 m 4:50.59 17 January 2010 Davos Mini combination 176.227 17 January 1982 Davos Sprint combination 159.500 26 February 1989 Heerenveen See also
References
- Christa Rothenburger at SkateResults.com
- Christa Luding-Rothenburger at DESG (Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft) (German)
- Profile at official Olympic Movement website
Olympic Champions in Women's 500 m Speed Skating 1960: Helga Haase · 1964: Lidiya Skoblikova · 1968: Lyudmila Titova · 1972: Anne Henning · 1976: Sheila Young · 1980: Karin Enke · 1984: Christa Rothenburger · 1988: Bonnie Blair · 1992: Bonnie Blair · 1994: Bonnie Blair · 1998: Catriona Le May Doan · 2002: Catriona Le May Doan · 2006: Svetlana Zhurova · 2010: Lee Sang-HwaOlympic Champions in Women's 1000 m Speed Skating 1960: Klara Guseva · 1964: Lidiya Skoblikova · 1968: Carry Geijssen · 1972: Monika Pflug · 1976: Tatyana Averina · 1980: Natalya Petrusyova · 1984: Karin Enke · 1988: Christa Luding · 1992: Bonnie Blair · 1994: Bonnie Blair · 1998: Marianne Timmer · 2002: Chris Witty · 2006: Marianne Timmer · 2010: Christine NesbittCategories:- 1959 births
- Living people
- German speed skaters
- German cyclists
- Olympic cyclists of East Germany
- Olympic speed skaters of East Germany
- Olympic speed skaters of Germany
- Sportspeople of multiple sports
- Speed skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Cyclists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for East Germany
- Olympic silver medalists for East Germany
- Olympic bronze medalists for Germany
- People from Weißwasser
- Olympic medalists in speed skating
- Former world record holders in speed skating
- Olympic medalists in cycling
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