February 2002 - Nr. 2
Olympic Focus
Speed skating Rivalry Between Top Women
Gets Sharper
TWIG - The battle for speed skating gold in Salt Lake City may very well come down to a duel between Germany’s top women skaters, as a tense rivalry has only heated up in recent weeks. Anni Friesinger, the 25-year-old Bavarian, seems to have the momentum going into February, coming off ten wins on the World Cup circuit. Her rival, Claudia Pechstein, skipped the last World Cup competition before the games in mid-January because of the flu. But the 29-year-old from Berlin dealt Friesinger her only defeat at the European Championships, held the first week in January in Erfurt, in the 5,000-meter race. Pechstein holds the world record in the 3,000-meter.
While Friesinger is looking to improve on her one bronze medal finish in the 1998 Nagano games, Pechstein is going for an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal in the 5000-meter. Both athletes are chasing the legacy of Germany’s Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, who holds three Olympic gold medals, from the 1992 and 1998 games and numerous World Cup titles, and for whom the stadium in Erfurt is named.
The athletic rivalry between Friesinger and Pechstein moved off the ice this month as the two have dueled in the media. It’s not the first time they have exchanged verbal barbs, and the volley of interviews and quotes has only served to raise Friesinger’s already high media profile. In addition to prize money, she profits from numerous commercial endorsements.
Friesinger’s hometown of Inzell in southeastern Bavaria is the cradle of modern German speed skating. National championships and international competitions were held on the natural track on the Frillensee from 1960 to 1963. The stunning lake venue at an altitude of 3,038 feet made the name Inzell synonymous with German speed skating and attracted athletes from Austria, Holland, Switzerland and Finland to train there. The newer outdoor stadium has hosted numerous World Championship speed skating events over the past three decades and will again be the site of the World Championships in March. Friesinger is sure to have her hometown behind her going into the Olympics, even if some of her comments have left Pechstein and other team-mates cold.
