Other names:

ROTHENBURGER, Christa

ROTHENBURGER, Shrista

Born: 4 December 1959

Birthplace: Weisswasser (Germany)

Nationality: Germany

Sport: Cycling, Skating

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Lake Placid 1980

Sarajevo 1984

Seoul 1988

Calgary 1988

Albertville 1992

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 2

Silver: 2

Bronze: 1

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 3 (85, 86, 88)

Silver: 3 (86, 87, 89)

Bronze: 4 (79, 83, 87, 92)

Winter and Summer Medals in the Same Year

Christa Luding-Rothenburger is the only person in any sport to have won medals in both the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics in the same year. Luding-Rothenburger first competed in speed skating at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, finishing 12th in the 500m and 18th in the 1,000m events. She entered the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games as the world record holder at 500m, and proceeded to win the gold medal in that event. She also placed fifth at 1,000m. Four years later, at the Calgary Winter Games, Luding-Rothenberger earned the silver medal in the 500m by finishing a mere two hundredths of a second behind Bonnie Blair. Four days later, Luding-Rothenberger won the gold medal at 1,000m and broke the world record. Her coach, Ernst Luding (whom she married in 1988) had persuaded her to take up cycling during the off season from skating. She quickly became a strong contender in this event, winning gold in the match sprint competition at the 1986 world championships. During the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Christa Luding-Rothenburger made Olympic history by earning the silver medal in the 1,000m match sprint seven months after she had triumphed at the Winter Olympics. At the 1992 Albertville Winter Games she added a bronze medal in the 500m speed skating event and placed eighth in the 1,000.