Karin Enke facts for kids
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Enke in 1983
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 20 June 1961 Dresden, East Germany |
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| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SC Einheit Dresden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Karin Voss, born Karin Enke on June 20, 1961, is a famous former speed skater. She was one of the best skaters in the 1980s. Karin won three gold medals at the Olympic Games. She also earned a total of eight Olympic medals while representing East Germany.
Contents
Karin Enke's Amazing Career
Karin Enke started her sports journey as a figure skater. She competed for East Germany and placed ninth at the European Figure Skating Championships in 1977. Later, she decided to switch to speed skating. This change led her to become a superstar on the ice.
Olympic Success
Karin was incredibly strong in all speed skating distances. She was the reigning World Allround Champion and World Sprint Champion. In 1983, she won German titles in all five distances. This made her a top favorite for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. At those Olympics, she won two gold medals and two silver medals.
World Cup Achievements
During her career, Karin Enke won 21 individual races in the Speed Skating World Cup. However, she only won one overall World Cup title. She stopped competing in speed skating after the 1987–88 season.
Her Changing Names
Karin Enke was born with the name Karin Enke. In 1981, she got married and competed as Karin Busch for one winter season. This marriage did not last long. For the next two winters (1982–83 and 1983–84), she competed again as Karin Enke. In 1984, she married her long-time coach, Rudolf Kania. After this, she competed as Karin Kania for the rest of her speed skating career. After she retired, she divorced and married again, becoming Karin Enke-Richter.
Karin Enke's Medals
Here is a list of the medals Karin Enke won at major championships:
| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 1980 (500 m) 1984 (1000 m) 1984 (1500 m) |
1984 (500 m) 1984 (3000 m) 1988 (1000 m) 1988 (1500 m) |
1988 (500 m) |
| World Allround | 1982 1984 1986 1987 1988 |
1981 1983 |
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| World Sprint | 1980 1981 1983 1984 1986 1987 |
1982 1988 |
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| World Cup | 1986 (1000 m) | 1986 (500 m) 1986 (1500 m) 1988 (1000 m) |
1986 (3000/5000 m) 1988 (500 m) 1988 (1500 m) 1988 (3000/5000 m) |
| European Allround | 1981 1982 1983 |
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| German Allround | 1982 1983 |
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| German Sprint | 1984 1986 |
1983 | |
| German Single Distance | 1980 (1000 m) 1983 (500 m) 1983 (1000 m) 1983 (1500 m) 1983 (3000 m) 1983 (5000 m) 1984 (500 m) 1984 (1000 m) 1984 (1500 m) 1986 (1000 m) 1987 (500 m) 1988 (1000 m) 1988 (1500 m) |
1980 (1500 m) 1986 (500 m) 1986 (1500 m) 1986 (3000 m) 1988 (500 m) |
1980 (500 m) |
World Records Set by Karin Enke
Karin Enke set 10 world records during her career. Here are some of them:
| Distance | Result | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini combination | 168.271 | 14 February 1982 | Inzell |
| 1500 m | 2:03.42 | 9 February 1984 | Sarajevo |
| 1000 m | 1:18.84 | 22 February 1986 | Karuizawa |
| Sprint combination | 160.060 | 23 February 1986 | Karuizawa |
| 1500 m | 2:02.23 | 6 March 1986 | Inzell |
| 3000 m | 4:18.02 | 21 March 1986 | Medeo |
| 500 m | 39.52 | 21 March 1986 | Medeo |
| 1500 m | 1:59.30 | 22 March 1986 | Medeo |
| Mini combination | 168.387 | 22 March 1986 | Inzell |
| 1000 m | 1:18.11 | 5 December 1987 | Calgary |
Karin Enke's Best Times
These are Karin Enke's personal best times in different distances. The last column shows the world record at the time she achieved her personal best.
| Distance | Result | Date | Location | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 39.24 | 22 February 1988 | Calgary | 39.39 |
| 1000 m | 1:17.70 | 26 February 1988 | Calgary | 1:18.11 |
| 1500 m | 1:59.30 | 22 March 1986 | Medeo | 2:02.23 |
| 3000 m | 4:17.76 | 5 December 1987 | Calgary | 4:16.85 |
| 5000 m | 7:39.82 | 22 March 1986 | Medeo | 7:31.45 |
| Small combination | 168.272 | 22 March 1986 | Medeo | 171.760 |
| Mini combination | 168.271 | 14 February 1982 | Inzell | 168.387 |
| Sprint combination | 160.060 | 23 February 1986 | Karuizawa | 161.120 |
It's interesting to note that even though Karin Enke set amazing personal records, some were not world records. For example, her 500 m personal best was not a world record because Bonnie Blair skated even faster (39.10 seconds) at the same 1988 Winter Olympics. Also, her 1000 m personal best was not a world record because Christa Rothenburger was slightly faster (1:17.65) at the same event.
See also
In Spanish: Karin Kania para niños
