Gabriele Seyfert (born 23 November 1948 in Chemnitz

Chemnitz

Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...

) is a retired German figure skater

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

. She is a two-time world champion (1969

1969 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....

, 1970

1970 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....

), and the 1968 Olympic silver medalist

1968 Winter Olympics

The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...

.

Biography

Seyfert skated for the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt and was representing the GDR (East-Germany). Her coach was her mother Jutta Müller

Jutta Müller

Jutta Müller, born Jutta Lötzsch is a German former figure skater and one of the most successful figure skating coaches worldwide....

. She was a long-time rival of Peggy Fleming

Peggy Fleming

Peggy Gail Fleming is an American figure skater. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies' singles and a three-time World Champion...

, but was not able to defeat her.

Seyfert was one of the first world famous sport-stars of East Germany. In 1966, after two silver medals at the Europeans and the Worlds

World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

, she was voted as “The GDR female athlete of the year”. During 1968 she became the first woman to land a clean triple Loop

Loop jump

The Loop jump is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same backwards outside edge. For a jump with counterclockwise rotation, this is the right back outside edge. It is named from its similarity to the loop compulsory figure. The invention is widely...

.

In 1970, she ended her figure skating career surprisingly. Her daughter Sheila was born in 1972. Unlike Peggy Fleming, she could not skate professionally; offers made by Holiday on Ice

Holiday on Ice

Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently produced by Joop van den Ende's Stage Entertainment Group with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands...

 were refused by East German authorities.

Seyfert turned to coaching, and worked with the Anett Pötzsch

Anett Pötzsch

Anett Pötzsch is a retired German figure skater. She is the 1980 Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, two-time world champion , four-time European champion and five-time East German champion ....

 in the early 1970s. Due to the East German coach hierarchy, Pötzsch was transferred to the group of Jutta Müller

Jutta Müller

Jutta Müller, born Jutta Lötzsch is a German former figure skater and one of the most successful figure skating coaches worldwide....

, and Seyfert ended her coaching career. She then studied languages at university and worked as a professional translator. From 1985 to 1991, she led the ice ballet at the Friedrichstadtpalast

Friedrichstadt Palast

The Friedrichstadt-Palast is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte . The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble...

 in East Berlin, where she also skated occasionally. After the ice ballet was closed, she worked at a service industry business in Berlin. She lives in Berlin-Karow.

Results

Event	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970
Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...				19th				2nd
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...		21st			5th	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...	21st	12th	10th		5th	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	1st
East German Championships East German Figure Skating Championships The National Championships of the German Democratic Republic in Figure Skating were the figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of the German Democratic Republic, often referred to as East Germany...	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st

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