It is rare that you can find such a combination of talent in one person. Katarina Witt has shown that she can excel as an ice skater, business woman, athlete, and television celebrity. She was nicknamed ‘fire on the ice’ and the world had not been taken by storm with the love of a skater since Sonja Henie.
Katarina was born in East Berlin, Germany in 1965; the former communist East Germany. Her love of skating began early when, at the age of five, she was skating at the local sports arena. Her style was apparent and she went under the tutelage of Jutta Mueller, one of the world’s foremost skating instructors. Even though Katarina was a growing girl, she devoted her time to her skating. Between school and 4 hours a day on the ice, she didn’t have any time left to enjoy a family or friends. But hers was a labor of love.
Witt (pronounced ‘vitt’) recognized that she had some natural beauty early in her years. She combined the beauty with some flashy costuming to enhance the skating performance. Mueller also recognized Katarina’s talent and blended a sense of sensuality with the skating style. By the time she had reached the age of eleven, she had successfully accomplished an incredibly complicated triple salchow. Witt had a love for a more free skating style, and when she was 14, she was entered into the European championship. She continued for the next few years and won both the long and short programs in 1982. Both she and her coach were proud that she had elevated to overall second place.
Katarina shot into the world of international skating when she performed at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. Fans were accustomed to the rather stern Eastern block costumes that skaters typically wore. Katarina blasted that stereotype with a more traditional Hungarian costume with a sassy twist. Her energy and personality combined with the skating performance took the judges by storm and she had near perfect scores. She was in close competition with Rosalyn Sumners of the U.S. team, but, Katarina ended up taking the gold with just one-tenth of a point ahead.
The world was entranced by Katarina and no one was surprised when she extended her performance in the HBO show “Carmen on Ice”. The Emmy Award she won in 1990 catapulted her into other roles, including the CBS TV special “Women in Red”, which had a broadcast throughout Canada and Europe. Katarina performed in a variety of skating performance groups including “Skating I” and “Skating II” as well as the “Discover Card Stars on Ice”.
Witt’s love of the camera opened a new channel in her life as she added the media ability in motion pictures, sports commentaries and television. She co-produced the “Ice Princess” which was a skating adaption of Cinderella. People Magazine has twice given Katarina the title of “One of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World”. She was given the “Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Award”. She was the first German to have ever received this coveted award and it honored her commitment and outstanding athletic achievements.
Katarina has established her own company, Witt Sports and Entertainment GmbH. Her image and skating abilities continue to represent the highest of standards and elegance.