Mandy Wötzel

Mandy Wötzel was born 21 July 1973 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, East Germany. She married an Australian in 2007 and moved the same year to Australia.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1988-1106-005, Mandy Wötzel, Axel Rauschnbach.jpg in 1988]]

Wötzel began skating as a child. She skated for the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was renamed to SC Chemnitz after German reunification. Her first partner was Axel Rauschenbach. The pair won the silver medal at the 1989 European Championships. Rauschenbach's skate blade struck Wötzel's head in 1989 while they were performing side-by-side camel spins. She was in hospital for three months and missed half a year of school. Wötzel and Rauschenbach competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where they finished 8th. Following the season, Rauschenbach ended their partnership to work at a bank.

Ingo Steuer, who had been without a partner during 1991–1992 season, trained at the same rink as Wötzel, and under the same coach, Monika Scheibe. Scheibe initially hesitated to put Wötzel and Steuer together due to doubts about whether their personalities would work well together but she was persuaded after seeing their tryout. After less than a year together, Wötzel/Steuer won the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 World Championships. Both were accepted into the sports division of the German army, supporting athletes.

Wötzel and Steuer had a few accidents during their career. She knocked him out with her elbow while practicing the twist lift and he broke her nose while practicing another lift. During the long program at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Wötzel tripped on a rut and fell to the ice, cutting her chin. Steuer carried her off the ice. The pair was forced to withdraw from the competition and Wötzel had to have stitches. They skated at the 1994 World Championships one month later, and finished fourth. In a humorous touch, after the program, Steuer carried Wötzel off the ice just as he had at the Olympics.

Wötzel/Steuer won the 1995 European Championships and the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Steuer underwent his fifth or sixth knee surgery in mid-1997. On 8 December 1997, a passing car's side window hit Steuer's arm, partly tearing ligaments in his right shoulder. Pain radiated to his neck and face and caused headaches but he continued to skate. Wötzel/Steuer won the silver medal at the Champions Series Final, held 19–20 December 1997 in Munich, Germany. When he caught her during a triple twist in the long program, Steuer felt a sharp pain that extended to his head. They stayed off the ice for the following three weeks. Wötzel/Steuer missed the 1998 European Championships as a result but returned in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where they won the bronze medal. They then retired from competition and skated in shows and professional events.

In a 2006 interview, Wötzel said that their partnership was "hell" and she felt anxiety at the sight of Steuer.

In autumn 2006, Wötzel participated in the TV show Dancing on Ice on the German channel RTL, partnered with boxer Sven Ottke.

Wötzel works as a skating coach in Australia. She started teaching at the Olympic Ice Rink in Oakleigh, Melbourne in 2008.

GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite news | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/02/04/german-pair-find-skating-is-easiest-part/ | title = German Pair Find Skating Is Easiest Part | first = Philip | last = Hersh | work = Chicago Tribune | date = 4 February 1998 }}

{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/04/sports/olympics-nagano-1998-taking-life-and-its-scars-and-pains.html?pagewanted=all | title = OLYMPICS: NAGANO 1998; Taking Life and Its Scars and Pains | first = Jere | last = Longman | work = The New York Times | date = 4 February 1998 }}

{{cite news | url = http://articles.nydailynews.com/1998-02-04/sports/18072637_1_pairs-figure-skaters-ingo-steuer-nerve-damage | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120415230509/http://articles.nydailynews.com/1998-02-04/sports/18072637_1_pairs-figure-skaters-ingo-steuer-nerve-damage | url-status = dead | archive-date = 15 April 2012 | title = Daring Pair Might Break Ice | first = Filip | last = Bondy | work = Daily News (New York) | date = 4 February 1998 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.focus.de/sport/wintersport/mandy-woetzel_aid_105619.html | title= Angstgefühle beim Anblick Steuers | language=de |trans-title=Anxiety at the sight of Steuer | date= 1 March 2006 | publisher= focus.de | access-date= 25 October 2010 }}

{{cite web | url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/mandy-wotzel-1.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200417220718/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/mandy-wotzel-1.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 17 April 2020 | title = Mandy Wötzel | work = Sports-reference }}

{{cite web | url = http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/die-chemnitzer-mandy-woetzel-und-ingo-steuer-wollen-in-oberstdorf-den-titel-im-paarlauf-verteidigen-aber-die-gefahr-tanzt-immer-mit,10810590,9222528.html | title = Aber die Gefahr tanzt immer mit | language = de |trans-title=Danger always present | first = Barbara | last = Klimke | work = Berliner Zeitung | date = 4 January 1997 }}

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Category:1973 births

Category:Living people

Category:Figure skaters from Chemnitz

Category:German female pair skaters

Category:World Figure Skating Championships medalists

Category:European Figure Skating Championships medalists

Category:Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics

Category:Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics

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Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Germany

Category:Olympic figure skaters for Germany

Category:Olympic medalists in figure skating

Category:Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf

Category:Sportspeople from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt

Category:German figure skating coaches

Category:German emigrants to Australia

Category:East German female figure skaters

Category:Expatriate sportspeople in East Germany