Kerstin Szymkowiak
Kerstin Szymkowiak 
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| nation |
 Germany
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| birthday | 19th December 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| place of birth | Siegen , Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| size | 164 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 70 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| job | Sports science student | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| society | RSG Hochsauerland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| status | resigned | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Placements in the WC / EC / NAC / IC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| last change: February 21, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kerstin Szymkowiak née Jürgens (born December 19, 1977 in Siegen ) is a former German skeleton driver who lives in Arth in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
Career
Kerstin Szymkowiak comes from Marmecke in the Kirchhundem municipality . Her father, who was the athletics trainer for TV Kirchhundem, supported her in sports as a child. After attending the “Maria Königin” high school in Lennestadt , which she completed with her Abitur, she went to Marseille for a ten-month au pair stay . There she had the opportunity to train at Olympique Marseille . The stay abroad was followed by a degree in sports science at the University of Paderborn .
She tried her hand at first as a javelin thrower, but missed qualifying for the Summer Olympics. She got in touch with bobsleigh , where she pushed the bobsleigh pilot Sandra Kiriasis in 2002 , but could not qualify for the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, and eventually switched to skeleton . From where she was studying in Paderborn , she moved to Mainz .
Szymkowiak drove for the WSV Königssee from 2002–2004 and started for the RSG Hochsauerland in 2004 , where she has been an honorary member since 2010. Her greatest successes include the three bronze medals at the 2004 World Championships in Königssee, 2008 in Altenberg and 2009 in Lake Placid, winning the European Championship in 2005 and, in addition to four other World Cup victories, the three World Cup victories in a row in Cesana (Italy) 2005, 2007 and 2008, where she set track records in 2005 and 2007, respectively. On this track she was considered a candidate for a medal for the 2006 Olympic Games, but was not nominated after a zigzag course of the association and the national Olympic committee.
On February 19, 2010, Szymkowiak won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver .
For this success she received the Silver Laurel Leaf from Federal President Köhler in 2010.
On February 21, 2010, Szymkowiak announced that she was retiring from competitive sports for private and health reasons - she has osteoarthritis in her knees.
She has been married to Philippe Szymkowiak, the masseur of the Swiss bobsleigh teams Annenbob and Beat Hefti , since 2008 . In August 2010 she finished her studies to become a qualified sports scientist. In September 2010, Szymkowiak gave birth to a daughter.
With one Olympic, three world championship and four European championship medals, she was one of the most successful skeleton riders in the world alongside Maya Pedersen until 2010.
Success in skeleton
- 2002 European Cup victory in Winterberg
- 2003 German runner-up, 10th place in the World Championships in Nagano (Japan)
- 2004 German Champion, World Cup victories in Sigulda (Latvia) and Altenberg, Vice European Champion, 3rd World Championship place, 4th place overall World Cup 03/04
- 2005 German vice-champion, European champion, 4th world championship place, World Cup victory in Cesana (Italy), 3rd place overall World Cup 04/05
- 2006 German champion, 6th place overall World Cup 05/06
- 2007 German runner-up, World Cup victory in Cesana (Italy), 6th place overall World Cup 06/07
- 2008 German runner-up, World Cup victory in Cesana, 3rd European championship place in Cesana, 3rd world championship place in Altenberg
- 2009 3rd world championship course in Lake Placid
- 2010 silver at the Olympic Games in Vancouver, Vice European Champion in Innsbruck, World Cup victories in Winterberg and Altenberg, 3rd place overall World Cup 09/10
Web links
- Profile on skeletonsport.com ( Memento from October 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- official page
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhard Sogl: Skeleton: In the Rausch der Rinne . Frankfurter Rundschau from November 28, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Skeleton duo: resignation, wedding and speed camera photo ( Memento from August 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Uwe Martin: Skeleton: Zigzag course of an Olympic nomination . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 1, 2006
- ↑ Olympians receive the silver bay leaf: DOSB, May 17, 2010 ...
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Szymkowiak, Kerstin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jürgens, Kerstin (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German skeleton skier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 19th December 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Siegen , Germany |