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.
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.Seit heute heißt Anni Friesinger auch Postma In: Die Welt dated 11 August 2009. As of November 2013, 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. 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."With a belly flop, German skater ends with gold", by RAF CASERT, The Associated Press, Sunday, 28 February 2010.
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 Distance Time (min:sec.dec) Event Place Date 500 m 38.09 2nd World Cup meet 2005–06 Salt Lake City – Kearns 18 November 2005 1000 m 1:13.49 2nd World Cup meet 2007–08 Calgary 18 November 2007 1500 m 1:53.19 2nd World Cup meet 2005–06 Salt Lake City – Kearns 20 November 2005 3000 m 3:58.52 1st World Cup meet 2005–06 Calgary 12 November 2005 5000 m 6:58.39 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City – Kearns 23 February 2002 Source: SpeedskatingResults.com
She is currently in 9th position in the adelskalender.
World records EventTimeDateVenue1500 m1:56.9529 March 1998 Calgary1500 m1:54.384 March 2001 Calgary1500 m1:54.0220 February 2002 Salt Lake City1500 m1:53.226 November 2005Calgary
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com
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 known for her thighs,Radio 538 In Zwoele Zomernachten: Ids Postma in a radio interview, July 2008. 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. .
References
External links
Anni Friesinger at Speed Skating Stats Anni Friesinger Fan Site – at Skate Log, edited by Kathie Fry