Claudia Pechstein

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began figure skating in 1976. She switched to speed skating in 1982 at Sportforum Hohenschonhausen in Berlin, Germany.

Awards and honours	She and bobsleigher Francesco Friedrich were Germany's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (kcra.com, 04 Feb 2022; insidethegames.biz, 04 Feb 2022) She was named the 2017 Berlin Athlete of the Year in Germany. (champions-berlin.de, 09 Dec 2019) She was voted the 2002 Sportswoman of the Year by German television network RTL. (claudia-pechstein.de, 16 Sep 2015) She has received the Golden Ribbon from the German Association of Sports Journalists [VDS]. (claudia-pechstein.de, 2012)
Nicknames	Goldclaudi, Goldstein, Claudi (Instagram profile, 25 Sep 2023; Facebook page, 18 Feb 2018; claudia-pechstein.de, 2012)
Other information	VETERAN At age 49 she won two titles - her 40th and 41st in total - at the 2021 German Championships. She then became the first female athlete from any sport to compete at eight editions of the Olympic Winter Games when she took part in the 2022 Games in Beijing. "I was not too fast [in the 3000m in Beijing] but I smiled because today I got my goal to race in my eighth Olympic Games. This was important for me." (eurosport.com, 05 Feb 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 16 Nov 2022; faz.net, 31 Oct 2021) SUSPENSION AND LONG LEGAL BATTLE The International Skating Union [ISU] banned her for two years after blood samples taken at the 2009 World Allround Championships in Hamar, Norway, showed a high level of immature red blood cells. She appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] and also the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, but her suspension was upheld. She was the first athlete from any sport to be banned over screenings in her biological passport. In October 2018, after almost 10 years of legal battles, she lost an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, as far as she had claimed CAS lacked independence and impartiality, and was successful as far as she argued that her right to a public hearing was denied. A civil claim remains on-going before the Munich Higher Regional Court following a decision in her favour by the German Constitutional Court. (ISU, 2024) POLITICIAN She stood for election in the German federal elections in 2021 with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany party. She was not elected. (de.nachrichten.yahoo.com, 18 Jun 2023; saechsische.de, 01 Nov 2021; schaatsen.nl, 15 Sep 2021)
Injuries	She was affected by a back injury in January 2017. (sport1.de, 29 Jan 2017) She has been troubled by back injuries during her career. (focus.de, 25 Jul 2013)

claudia-pechstein.de/
www.facebook.com/ClaudiPechstein

Other sports

She has competed in track cycling. She finished 10th in the 500m time trial at the 2011 National Championships in Berlin, Germany. She has also represented Germany in roller speed skating, and competed in the road marathon event at the 2019 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. (bmw-berlin-marathon.com, 30 Jul 2017; scc-berlin.de, 17 Jun 2014; SportsDeskOnline, 22 Dec 2020)

Reason for choosing this sport

She was encouraged to take up the sport by her parents. "I was a very active child who had trouble sleeping. My mother encouraged me to try figure skating at around age four, but I disliked the ballet element. At age nine I switched to speed skating."

Hobbies	Spending time with family. (die-hellersdorfer.berlin, 28 Aug 2018)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the 5000m event at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer. (die-hellersdorfer.berlin, 28 Aug 2018)
Famous relatives	Her partner Matthias Grosse has served as president of the German Speed Skating and Short Track Association [DESG]. (n-tv.de, 07 Mar 2023; desg.de, 27 Oct 2022)
Milestones	She became the first female athlete from any sport to compete at eight editions of the Olympic Winter Games when she took part in the 2022 Games in Beijing. Her appearance in Beijing made her only the second athlete, male or female, to compete at eight editions of the Olympic Winter Games after male Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai. (eurosport.com, 05 Feb 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 16 Nov 2022) At age 47 years and 273 days, she became the oldest speed skater to win a World Cup race by claiming victory in the B group 3000m at the 2019 event in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. In 2017 she also became the oldest speed skater to finish on the podium at a world championships, winning silver in the 5000m at the 2017 World Single Distances Championships in Gangneung, Republic of Korea, at age 44 years and 355 days. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Nov 2021; morgenpost.de, 23 Jul 2017; handelsblatt.com, 11 Feb 2017) Her two medals at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin made her the first speed skater to win medals at five editions of the Olympic Winter Games. In total she has secured nine medals, including five gold, in an Olympic career that began in 1992. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Sep 2017; sports-reference.com, 31 Jan 2012)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Giving up is not an option." (desg.de, 01 Jan 2020)

Club / Team

Eisbaren Juniors Berlin: Germany