Anni Friesinger-Postma

Anna ("Anni") Christine Friesinger-Postma (born 11 January 1977) is a German former speed skater. Her father Georg Friesinger, of Germany, and mother Janina ("Jana") Korowicka, of Poland, were both skaters; Jana was on the Polish team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Her brother Jan is also a speed skater. Her sister Agnes is a former speed skater. In July 2010, Friesinger retired from her active sports career when she had to be treated for severe cartilage damage in her right knee joint.[1]

Anni Friesinger-Postma
Anni Friesinger at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1977-01-11) 11 January 1977
Bad Reichenhall, West Germany
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Spouse(s)Ids Postma (2009)
Sport
CountryGermany
SportSpeed skating
Turned pro1993
Coached byGianni Romme
Retired2010
Medal record
Women's speed skating
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2002 Salt Lake City1500 m
Gold medal – first place2006 TurinTeam pursuit
Gold medal – first place2010 VancouverTeam pursuit
Bronze medal – third place2006 Turin1000 m
Bronze medal – third place1998 Nagano3000 m
World Allround Championships
Gold medal – first place2001 BudapestAllround
Gold medal – first place2002 HeerenveenAllround
Gold medal – first place2005 MoscowAllround
Silver medal – second place2007 HeerenveenAllround
Bronze medal – third place1998 HeerenveenAllround
World Sprint Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 HamarSprint
Silver medal – second place2004 NaganoSprint
Silver medal – second place2008 HeerenveenSprint
World Single Distance Championships
Gold medal – first place1998 Calgary1500 m
Gold medal – first place2001 Salt Lake City1500 m
Gold medal – first place2003 Berlin1000 m
Gold medal – first place2003 Berlin1500 m
Gold medal – first place2003 Berlin3000 m
Gold medal – first place2004 Seoul1000 m
Gold medal – first place2004 Seoul1500 m
Gold medal – first place2005 Inzell5000 m
Gold medal – first place2005 InzellTeam pursuit
Gold medal – first place2008 Nagano1000 m
Gold medal – first place2008 Nagano1500 m
Gold medal – first place2009 Vancouver1500 m
Silver medal – second place1997 Warsaw1500 m
Silver medal – second place1997 Warsaw3000 m
Silver medal – second place2000 Nagano1500 m
Silver medal – second place2001 Salt Lake City3000 m
Silver medal – second place2004 Seoul3000 m
Silver medal – second place2005 Inzell1000 m
Silver medal – second place2005 Inzell1500 m
Silver medal – second place2007 Salt Lake City1000 m
Silver medal – second place2009 Vancouver1000 m
Bronze medal – third place1998 Calgary3000 m

On 11 August 2009 Friesinger married former Dutch skater Ids Postma, her long-term boyfriend, at Schloss Mirabell. The celebration took place at Schloss Aigen.[2] As of November 2013,[3] Friesinger lives in Salzburg, Austria, and is planning to move to the Netherlands to live with Postma on his farm in Dearsum. In August 2011 she gave birth to a daughter.[4] In May 2014, her second daughter was born.

Sports merits

Championships

Friesinger has won five Olympic medals; gold at the 1500 m in the 2002 Winter Olympics and the team pursuit in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics as well as bronze at the 3000 m in the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 1000 m in the 2006 Winter Olympics. She managed to qualify for the German speed skating team in five events at the 2006 Winter Olympics: the team pursuit and the individual races at 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, and 5000 meters. However, she failed to win gold in any individual events. In the team pursuit semifinal against the United States at the 2010 Olympics, she fell behind her team members and ended up sliding across the finish line on her belly, but Germany still succeeded in advancing to the final.[5]

As well as being a five-time European Allround Champion and three time, World Allround Champion, Friesinger has won numerous titles in the World Single Distance Championships. Although she originally specialized in the longer distances, she also won the World Sprint Championships in 2007. In this, Friesinger became the fifth skater in history to be a World Champion in both Allround and Sprint disciplines (along with Sylvia Burka, CAN (1976 and 1977); Eric Heiden, U.S. (1977 and 1977); Natalya Petrusyova, URS (1980 and 1982); and Karin Kania-Enke, GDR (1980 and 1982)).

Records

Personal records

Friesinger has set the world record at the 1500 m distance four times during her career, but the record has since been superseded by Canadian competitor Cindy Klassen.

Personal records
DistanceTime (min:sec.dec)EventPlaceDate
500 m38.092nd World Cup meet 2005–06Salt Lake City – Kearns18 November 2005
1000 m1:13.492nd World Cup meet 2007–08Calgary18 November 2007
1500 m1:53.192nd World Cup meet 2005–06Salt Lake City – Kearns20 November 2005
3000 m3:58.52 1st World Cup meet 2005–06Calgary12 November 2005
5000 m6:58.392002 Winter OlympicsSalt Lake City – Kearns23 February 2002

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[6]

She is currently in 9th position in the adelskalender.[7]

World records
EventTimeDateVenue
1500 m1:56.9529 March 1998Calgary
1500 m1:54.384 March 2001Calgary
1500 m1:54.0220 February 2002Salt Lake City
1500 m1:53.226 November 2005Calgary

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[8]

Non-sport activities

Friesinger has done some modeling work as a sideline, and she has appeared as a swimsuit model in several publications. She is also known for her particularly powerful thighs,[9] as befits a champion speed skater.

Autobiography
  • Mein Leben, mein Sport, meine besten Fitness-Tipps ("My Life, My Sport, My Best Fitness Tips"). March 2004, Goldmann. ISBN 3-442-39059-1 (in German).

References
  1. "Eisschnelllauf-Star beendet Karriere: Anni Friesinger hört auf [Speed skating star ends her career: Anni Friesinger quits]". Bild-Zeitung (in German). 14 July 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  2. Seit heute heißt Anni Friesinger auch Postma In: Die Welt dated 11 August 2009.
  3. "Anni Friesinger opnieuw zwanger" (in Dutch). RTL Nederland. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  4. "Eisschnellläuferin Anni Friesinger-Postma bekommt Baby in Meppen". 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  5. "With a belly flop, German skater ends with gold", by RAF CASERT, The Associated Press, Sunday, 28 February 2010.
  6. "Anni Friesinger". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. "Adelskalendern". evertstenlund.se. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  8. "Anni Friesinger-Postma". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  9. Radio 538 In Zwoele Zomernachten: Ids Postma in a radio interview, July 2008.
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