At the age of four, Kunze stood on ice skates for the first time. She was initially active in figure skating , before switching to speed skating on the long track. Since 1992 she started in the short track for the club ESC Dresden , whose short trackers and speed skaters formed an independent club as EV Dresden from 2001 . She experienced her first international championship at the Junior World Championship in 1995, where she achieved the semi-finals as her best result over 1500 m. Just one year later she started in The Hague for the first time at the World Championship in the adult division, but dropped out over all distances after the heats. In the following year 1997 Kunze achieved first successes. At the first edition of the European Championships in Malmö she reached the semifinals over 500 m and 1500 m, with the relay she won her first international medal with bronze. At the World Championships in Nagano , she also reached the semi-finals over 1500 m. Kunze qualified for the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano. Over 500 m and 1000 m she was eliminated in the lead, with the relay she finished eighth.
The 1999 World Cup in Sofia was Kunze's most successful. Over 1500 m she reached the final and was sixth, in the all-around event she was eighth. In October 1999 she finally made her debut in the World Cup, but without reaching any of the top placements. Kunze celebrated her next successes at the 2000 European Championships in Bormio . While she narrowly missed a medal in fourth in the 1500 m and 3000 m, she won the bronze medal over the 1000 m and thus her first medal in an individual race. Her next sporting highlight was winning a bronze medal again at the 2002 European Championships in Grenoble , this time in the relay. Kunze took part in their second Olympic Games in Salt Lake City . Over 500 m and 1000 m she reached the quarter-finals this time, over 1500 m was the final destination after the preliminary run. With the season she was again eighth.
In the 2002/03 season , Kunze reached a final in the World Cup over 1500 m and 3000 m for the first time in Moscow . She won a bronze medal again at the European Championships in Saint Petersburg , this time in the 3000 m superfinal. At the last two World Cups of the season, Kunze was able to move into four other finals, but narrowly missed her first World Cup podium. In the overall world cup and in the 500 m discipline world cup, she finished eighth. In the following 2003/04 season Kunze could not improve in the World Cup and missed further finals. But she was successful in the relay at the European Championships in Zoetermeer and added another bronze medal to her medal balance. In the 2004/05 season, Kunze finally placed on the World Cup podium for the first time. In Hartford , she was second in the season. She achieved further successes again at the European Championships in Turin . There she finished sixth in the all-around competition and won over 1000 m and in the relay her EM bronze medals number six and seven. In their last season 2005/06 , Kunze reached the podium in the World Cup for the second time with the relay. The German quartet finished second in Heerenveen and qualified for the Olympic Games in Turin. In her third and last Olympic participation, Kunze surprised positively as seventh over 1000 m. With the season she was also sixth. She experienced her last international championship at the World Championships in Minneapolis . As the best result she reached the semi-finals there again over 1500 m.
After the season, Kunze ended her active career. Today she works on a voluntary basis as a short track trainer in Munich . She has completed training with the Federal Police .
Web links
Yvonne Kunze in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Yvonne Kunze in the database of ShorttrackOnLine.info (English)
Germany
