In the women's 3,000 meters of speed skating at the Winter Olympics, Holland's Sauteng won the gold medal with a time of 3 minutes 56.93 seconds, breaking the Olympic record. The event's original Winter Olympic record was 3:57.70 held by Germany's Peshstein.
What I want to introduce this time is the former Winter Olympic record holder Claudia Peschstein, who is also the standard-bearer of the German delegation at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Peschstein also competed in today's race, her eighth time at the Winter Olympics, where she finished 20th with a time of 4:17.16.
Participate in the contest and win the prize
Born in Berlin on 22 February 1972, Pechstein began her career in 1988 after showing her talent for speed skating as a child. In 1992, she competed in the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, where she made her debut and won a bronze medal in the 5,000m event.
In later competitions, Pechtstein became more skilled and ushered in the highlight of his life, winning gold medals in the 5000 meters and bronze medals in the 3000 meters at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Pehistein defended the gold medal in the 5000 meters and won the silver medal in the 3000 meters at the 1998 Winter Olympics; and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he won two gold medals in the 3000 meters and 5000 meters and set two world records.
Since 1992, in addition to Vancouver in 2010, she has participated in five Winter Olympic Games, each Olympic competition, she can win at least one medal, she achieved a medal Grand Slam in the 3000 meters speed skating competition, won three gold and one bronze in the 5000 meters speed skating event, and won a total of 5 Olympic gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals, making her one of the most successful Winter Olympic athletes in Germany.
Careers have also been bumpy
During her racing career, her feud with the International Skating Federation was also very difficult. In 2009, the International Skating Federation decided that the German star had abnormal levels of reticular cells in her blood, suspecting that she had artificially increased the number of red blood cells to improve speed and endurance, thus issuing a two-year ban, and Pechte was prevented from competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
If it weren't for a drug ban lawsuit, she would have set an unprecedented and most likely unprecedented record for her participation in the Winter Olympics – the "speed skating legend" would have reached a peak that was beyond reach.
The devastated Peshstein directly sued the ISA, but the lawsuit ended in failure, putting Pechtstein under great pressure of public opinion. But she has not given up, and she has constantly filed complaints with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Court. In early 2010, a report by experts from the German Association of Hematology and Oncology clarified Peschstein's blood abnormalities, which were in fact inherited defects from her father. After repeated complaints and advocacy, she was finally rehabilitated in 2015.
In her opinion, her reputation as an athlete is above all else, and she wants to get justice for herself. Because of this, her affairs have also been paid more attention.
The legs are old, but the heart is still young
Peschstein did his best to save enough points for the Beijing Winter Olympics and raise the ranking to the point where he could compete. Although she ranked first from the bottom of all 20 competitors in this competition, this did not affect her good mood, after the game, 49-year-old Pechstein said: "I did not skate too fast in the race, but after crossing the finish line I smiled, because today I achieved my 8th winter Olympics, the world's first female athlete to participate in the eight Winter Olympics, compared to the results, this is the most important."
Yesterday I was the flag bearer of the delegation at the opening ceremony, it was an amazing moment, the pinnacle of my career, I made history, the worst result of this tournament was the pinnacle of my career, today is more important than all my medals combined. ”
The day after the Beijing Winter Olympics, she will celebrate her 50th birthday, and this Beijing Winter Olympics, the eighth She has experienced, will also break the record held by Anne Abernathy as the oldest woman to participate in the Winter Olympics. It made her feel the meaning of going beyond the game. Although she did not win the group competition, her Olympic spirit deserves our admiration!
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