Kateřina Neumannová

Kateřina Neumannová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkatɛr̝ɪna ˈnojmanovaː] ⓘ) (born 15 February 1973) is a Czech retired cross-country skier. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the 30 km freestyle event. She is one of five cross country skiers to have competed at six Olympics.

Kateřina Neumannová
Kateřina Neumannová in 2019
Country Czech Republic
Born (1973-02-15) 15 February 1973
Písek, Czechoslovakia
Ski clubTJ Dukla Liberec
World Cup career
Seasons16 – (1991–2002, 2004–2007)
Individual wins19
Team wins1
Indiv. podiums49
Team podiums2
Indiv. starts170
Team starts20
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 2005)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Czech Republic
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2006 Turin30 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place1998 Nagano5 km classical
Silver medal – second place2002 Salt Lake City5 km + 5 km
combined pursuit
Silver medal – second place2002 Salt Lake City15 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place2006 Turin15 km double pursuit
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano5 km + 10 km
combined pursuit
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 Oberstdorf10 km freestyle
Gold medal – first place2007 Sapporo10 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place2007 Sapporo15 km double pursuit
Bronze medal – third place1997 Trondheim15 km freestyle
Bronze medal – third place1999 Ramsau5 km classical
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place1993 Harrachov5 km classical
Bronze medal – third place1993 Harrachov15 km freestyle
Representing  Czechoslovakia
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place1992 Vuokatti5 km classical
Silver medal – second place1991 Reit im Winkl5 km classical
Silver medal – second place1992 Vuokatti4 × 5 km relay

She was also the first Czech woman to appear in both a Summer and Winter Olympics, having participated in the mountain biking event at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Neumannová retired after the 2006-07 World Cup season.[1]

Career overview

She was a flatwater canoeist and downhill skier before moving to cross country skiing at sixteen. Neumannová made her first appearance in the Winter Olympics in 1992 in Albertville. Her goal was only to gain experience.[2] However, in all races (both individual and relay) she belonged to the best Czechoslovak athletes.[2] Two years later, in Lillehammer, she was already among the best.[2] She was 8th in 5 km classical and 6th in combination with 10 km free.

Her training during summer involved riding mountain bike and when the sport become popular she decided to race in it. Thanks to her strong muscles she quickly achieved successes. In 1995, she won a bronze medal at the European Championships,[3] and she also qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Although cross-country skiing remained her main sport and her summer training was usually lighter she took preparations for Atlanta seriously. "This time I left out the pleasant period and started abruptly. Thanks to it I achieved results in athletic tests that I last run in junior categories,"[4] she said before the Olympics. But her preparations were not in the best conditions. She practised in cold weather in Šumava while great heat was expected for the Atlanta race.[5] On 31 July 1996, she became the first Czech female athlete to compete on both Winter and Summer Olympics when starting in the mountain bike race at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia, United States. But the race itself was a horror for her. She fell off the bike early in the race. "I overrun about 15 racers but then a terrible crisis came upon me. I did not race anymore, I just wanted to finish," she described the race.[6] She mainly complained about the terrible heat and said it was one of her worst experiences.[5]

First major medal

Neumannová started the 1996/1997 season with a fourth place in the World Cup opener. The race took place in Kiruna and was run on 5 km free. Neumannová was content with the result but complained about soft snow she did not like. "If the track was more firm, I believe I would stand on the platform", she commented.[7][8] At the end of the year she clearly dominated the Czech Championships on 5 km free and 10 km classic. She commented it was mainly training for her as the main goal for the season was World Championships. For it she announced a goal to finish among best six.[9]

Only two weeks later, on 11 and 12 January, she achieved two second places in the World Cup. It was again on the 5 km and 10 km distances, but this time it was 5 km classic and 10 km free. The race was run in Hakuba, Japan on the tracks ready for 1998 Winter Olympics[10][11]

On 17 February 2005, she won the 10 km free at the Nordic skiing World Championships. Neumannová defended her 10 km free title at the following championships in Sapporo on 27 February 2007.

On 24 February 2006, in her 20th and final Olympic race, Neumannová won her sixth Olympic medal, but first Winter Olympic gold medal in the 30 km freestyle mass start and became the oldest winner in the event.

On 14 January 2007 Neumannová received the title Czech Sportsperson of the Year 2006, a trophy awarded by journalists in the Czech Republic.

2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

In late 2006, Neumannová was named an honorary vice president of the organizing committee for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, the Czech Republic. On 25 July 2007, she succeeded Roman Kumpost as chair of the organizing committee for the 2009 championships.[12]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[13]

Olympic Games
  • 6 medals – (1 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
19921913—1422——6—
1994218—146——9—
199825Silver—9Bronze——6—
200229——SilverSilver—134—
200633—5—SilverGold—6—

World Championships
  • 5 medals – (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
1993208—165——5—
19952211—713——8—
1997246—Bronze4——5—
199926Bronze—DNFDNF——7—
200128——9DNSCNX[a]———
200532—Gold—77—6—
200734—Gold—Silver——5—
a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

Season standings
 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint Tour de
Ski
19911846—————
19921919—————
1993207—————
19942112—————
19952214—————
1996238—————
1997243rd place, bronze medalist(s)—8—3rd place, bronze medalist(s)—
19982515—46—9—
1999266—18—2nd place, silver medalist(s)—
20002717—201817—
2001289———12—
2002292nd place, silver medalist(s)———3rd place, bronze medalist(s)—
20043198——21—
2005322nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)——41—
20063352nd place, silver medalist(s)————
2007343rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)——245

Individual podiums
  • 19 victories – (18 WC, 1 SWC)
  • 49 podiums – (48 WC, 1 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
11992–9312 December 1992Austria Ramsau, Austria5 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
2 1995–96 9 December 1995Switzerland Davos, Switzerland5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
34 February 1996Germany Reit im Winkl, Germany1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
4 1996–97 11 January 1997Japan Hakuba, Japan5 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
512 January 199710 km Pursuit FWorld Cup2nd
621 February 1997Norway Trondheim, Norway15 km Individual FWorld Championships[1]3rd
78 March 1997Sweden Falun, Sweden5 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
8 1997–98 22 November 1997Norway Beitostølen, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
98 January 1998Austria Ramsau, Austria10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
109 January 19985 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
111998–9928 November 1998Finland Muonio, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
1212 December 1998Italy Toblach, Italy5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
139 January 1999Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
1422 February 1999Austria Ramsau, Austria5 km Individual CWorld Championships[1]3rd
159 January 1999Finland Lahti, Finland10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
16 1999–00 28 December 1999Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
17 2000–01 17 December 2000Italy Brusson, Italy1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
1810 January 2001United States Soldier Hollow, United States5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup1st
192001–0225 November 2001Finland Kuopio, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
209 December 2001Italy Cogne, Italy1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
2129 December 2001Austria Salzburg, Austria1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
225 January 2002Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup3rd
236 January 20021.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
2412 January 2002Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
252003–0420 December 2003Austria Ramsau, Austria10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
266 January 2004Sweden Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup1st
2717 January 2004Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
286 February 2004France La Clusaz, France10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2921 February 2004Sweden Umeå, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
3013 March 2004Italy Pragelato, Italy15 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
312004–0526 November 2004Finland Rukatunturi, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
3228 November 200410 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
338 January 2005Estonia Otepää, Estonia10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
3415 January 2005Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
3522 January 2005Italy Pragelato, Italy7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
366 March 2005Finland Lahti, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
3712 March 2005Norway Oslo, Norway30 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
3819 March 2005Sweden Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
392005–0627 November 2005Finland Rukatunturi, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
4031 December 2005Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
4114 January 2006Italy Lago di Tesero, Italy15 km Mass Start FWorld Cup1st
4221 January 2006Germany Oberstdorf, Germany7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup3rd
438 March 2006Sweden Falun, Sweden5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
4411 March 2006Norway Oslo, Norway30 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
452006–0718 November 2006Sweden Gällivare, Sweden10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
467 January 2007Italy Cavalese, Italy10 km Individual FStage World Cup1st
4720 January 2007Russia Rybinsk, Russia15 km Mass Start FWorld Cup2nd
4816 February 2007China Changchun, China10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
4924 March 2007Sweden Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd

Team podiums
  • 1 victory – (1 TS)
  • 2 podiums – (1 RL, 1 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
11998–998 March 1999Finland Vantaa, FinlandTeam Sprint FWorld Cup1stHanušová
2 2006–07 17 December 2006France La Clusaz, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdErbenová / Rajdlová / Janečková

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Personal life

On 2 July 2003, Neumannová gave birth to a girl named Lucie.

See also

References
  1. FIS Newsflash 122. 11 April 2007.
  2. Profile on Czech Olympic Committee's webpage Archived 19 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 22 August 2006
  3. "Neumannová neví, zda bude jezdit", MF Dnes, 10 April 1996 page 23
  4. Original (Czech): "Tentokrát jsem příjemné období vynechala a šla jsem na to rovnou zostra. Díky tomu jsem při atletických testech zaběhla časy, jakých jsem naposledy dosáhla v juniorkách"
  5. "Neumannová se na vedro málem chystala ve sněhu", MF Dnes, 18 July 1996, page 18, available through "MFDNES ON-LINE - nep?ihl?en? U?ivatel". Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2006. (registration required)
  6. Original (Czech): "Dojela jsem asi patnáct závodnic, ale pak na mě padla hrozná krize. Už jsem nezávodila, jen jsem se snažila dojet."
  7. Original (Czech): "Kdyby trať byla tvrdší, věřím, že bych stála na stupni vítězů"
  8. (25 November 1996). Neumannová doběhla čtvrtá i na měkkém sněhu. MF DNES p. 13
  9. (30 December 1996). "Neumannová běhala v krutém mrazu suverénně". MFDNES, p. 02
  10. (13 January 1997). "Neumannová zazářila v Japonsku". MF DNES p. 01
  11. (13 January 1997). "Neumannová doběhla v Hakubě dvakrát druhá". MF DNES p. 02
  12. FIS NewsFlash 138. 1 August 2007.
  13. "NEUMANNOVA Katerina". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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