Cindy Klassen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cindy Klassen

Personal information
Born	(1979-08-12) August 12, 1979 (age 45) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb; 11.2 st)
Sport
Country	Canada
Sport	Speed skating
Medal record Women's speed skating Representing  Canada Olympic Games Gold 2006 Turin 1500 m Silver 2006 Turin Team pursuit Silver 2006 Turin 1000 m Bronze 2002 Salt Lake City 3000 m Bronze 2006 Turin 5000 m Bronze 2006 Turin 3000 m World Allround Championships Gold 2003 Gothenburg Allround Gold 2006 Calgary Allround Silver 2002 Heerenveen Allround Silver 2005 Moscow Allround Bronze 2007 Heerenveen Allround World Sprint Championships Silver 2003 Calgary Sprint Bronze 2007 Hamar Sprint World Single Distance Championships Gold 2005 Inzell 1500 m Gold 2005 Inzell 3000 m Gold 2011 Inzell Team pursuit Silver 2004 Seoul 1500 m Silver 2005 Inzell Team pursuit Silver 2007 Salt Lake City 1500 m Silver 2012 Heerenveen Team pursuit Bronze 2001 Salt Lake City 1500 m Bronze 2003 Berlin 1000 m Bronze 2004 Seoul 1000 m Bronze 2007 Salt Lake City 3000 m

Cindy Klassen, born on August 12, 1979, is a retired Canadian long track speed skater. She is famous for winning six medals at the Winter Olympics: one gold, two silver, and three bronze.

Cindy is the only Canadian athlete to win five medals in just one Olympic Games! She achieved this amazing feat at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She was also the first female speed skater ever to win five medals at a single Games. For many years, she held the world record in the 3000-meter race. She still holds the Canadian records for the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races. Cindy Klassen is also at the top of the Adelskalender, which is a special ranking for speed skaters. In 2003, she became the first Canadian in 27 years to win the overall title at the World Speed Skating Championships.

Cindy Klassen has received many important awards. In 2006, she won the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to Canada's best athlete of the year. Because of her success at the 2006 Olympics and throughout her career, she was named to the Order of Manitoba. She also won the Oscar Mathisen Award in 2006 for being an outstanding speed skater. In 2007, she was named the Female Athlete of the Year at the Canadian Sports Awards. The Canadian Mint even featured Cindy Klassen on a Canadian quarter in 2010 to celebrate her six Olympic medals!

Cindy's Skating Journey

From Hockey to Speed Skating

Cindy Klassen started her sports journey playing ice hockey in Winnipeg. She even played for the Canadian national youth team. However, when she wasn't chosen for the 1998 Winter Olympics, she decided to try speed skating. It turned out she was a natural talent on the ice!

In the 2003–04 season, Cindy faced a serious challenge. She had a bad fall during training and cut twelve tendons in her right arm. This injury kept her from competing for the entire season.

Olympic Success in Turin

Before the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, many people thought Cindy would do very well. She had already won a world allround title in 2003 and two world distance titles in 2005.

Cindy started the Turin Games by winning a silver medal in the 1000-meter race, just missing the gold. Then, she became an Olympic champion in the 1500-meter race! She continued her amazing performance by winning a silver medal in the women's team pursuit. She also earned bronze medals in both the 3000-meter and 5000-meter races. After winning her fifth medal on February 26, 2006, Cindy said it was "better than expected and really a dream come true."

Cindy Klassen made history by becoming the first Canadian to win five medals in one Olympic Games. She also tied American Eric Heiden's record for most medals won by a speed skater at an Olympics. She even surpassed the previous Canadian record of three medals, set by Gaétan Boucher in 1984. Cindy was also the first female speed skater to win five medals in a single Olympics. When you add her bronze medal from the 2002 Winter Olympics, she became the first Canadian to win six career Olympic medals.

Because of her incredible success, Cindy was chosen to carry the flag for the closing ceremony. The president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, even called her the "woman of the games."

Challenges and Comebacks

Cindy Klassen during the 2007 World Championships

To get ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Cindy Klassen decided not to compete in some races in 2007. She returned to competition in 2008 but then cut her season short because her sister was in a serious accident.

In July 2009, Cindy had surgery on her knees. Her doctor explained that her knees would never be "perfectly normal" again. He even said the only way for them to stop getting worse was for her to stop speed skating.

The coloured version of the Canadian quarter depicting Klassen

On January 5, 2010, the Royal Canadian Mint honored Cindy by making 22 million Canadian quarters with her image on them. Three million of these quarters even had a red maple leaf. This was to celebrate her six Olympic medals.

After two years away from skating and double knee surgery, Cindy's main goal for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was just to compete. She did not win any medals in 2010, placing 21st in the 1500-meter, 14th in the 3000-meter, and 12th in the 5000-meter races.

Return and Retirement

Even with pain and tiredness from her injuries, Cindy Klassen helped the women's team pursuit team win gold at the 2011 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships. The next year, they won a silver medal at the 2012 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships. In that same season, she helped her team win the World Cup title, winning three out of four races with Brittany Schussler and Christine Nesbitt.

Cindy Klassen officially retired from speed skating in June 2015. Her career had been affected by injuries towards the end. She said it was "an incredible honour to represent Canada in speed skating for 15 years."

Life After Skating

After retiring from sports, Cindy Klassen earned a degree in psychology. She then joined the Calgary Police Service and now works as a police constable.

Cindy's Achievements

Medals Won

• 2002
  • Bronze medal in 3000 m at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
• 2003
  • World allround champion
• 2005
  • World champion in 1500 m and 3000 m at the World Single Distance Championships
  • Silver medal at the World allround championships
• 2006
  • Gold medal and Olympic champion in 1500 m at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin
  • Bronze medal in 3000 m at the Winter Olympics in Turin
  • Silver medal in Team Pursuit at the Winter Olympics in Turin
  • Silver medal in 1000 m at the Winter Olympics in Turin
  • Bronze medal in 5000 m at the Winter Olympics in Turin
  • World allround champion
• 2007
  • Bronze medal at the World Sprint Championships
  • Bronze medal at the World allround championships

Special Awards

• 2005
  • Winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canadian female Athlete of the Year
• 2006
  • Winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian Athlete of the Year
  • Winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canadian female Athlete of the Year
• 2008
  • Featured on a special edition of the 2009 25-cent Canadian coin. She is one of the few living people (other than a reigning monarch) to be featured on coinage.
• 2017
  • Awarded the Order of Sport, which means she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Records Held by Cindy Klassen

On March 18, 2006, Cindy Klassen set a new world record for women in the 3000-meter race in Calgary, Canada. This record stood for almost 13 years! On March 2, 2019, Martina Sáblíková beat Cindy's time of 3:53.34 by just 0.03 seconds. Cindy Klassen is also the leader of the Adelskalender, which is the all-time world ranking for speed skating.

World Records Set

Cindy Klassen set several world records during her career:

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com.

See also

In Spanish: Cindy Klassen para niños

• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Winter Olympic medalists
• German Canadian