Cathy Priestner

Cathy Priestner
Full name	Catherine Ann Priestner
nation	Canada
birthday	May 27, 1956
place of birth	Windsor ,  Canada
size	165 cm
Weight	53 kg
Career
National squad	since 1970
status	resigned
End of career	1976
Medal table
Olympic medals 0 × 1 × 0 × World Cup medals 0 × 0 × 1 ×
winter Olympics silver 1976 Innsbruck 500 m  Sprint World Championships bronze 1975 Gothenburg sprint
last change: January 25, 2011

Catherine Ann Priestner (born May 27, 1956 in Windsor , Ontario ) is a former Canadian speed skater .

Priestner began speed skating at the age of eleven and celebrated her first national successes at the age of twelve, and made her first international appearance at the age of fifteen.

In 1972 , when she was sixteen, she took part in the Winter Olympics for the first time in Sapporo and placed in midfield over 500 m and 1000 m. At the Sprint World Championships in Gothenburg in 1975 Priestner won the bronze medal. A year later at her second Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 1976 , she won the silver medal over 500 m and was sixth over 1000 m. This makes her the first Canadian female speed skater to win an Olympic medal. She was then selected as the flag bearer of her team at the graduation ceremony.

At the age of just 20, she ended her career in 1976. Priestner then worked as a commentator for the Canadian broadcasters CTV and CBC at the Winter Olympics. She played a key role in organizing the 1988 , 2002 , 2006 and 2010 Winter Games . In 1994 she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame , the hall of fame for the Canadian Olympians.

Web links

• Cathy Priestner in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )