Denise Biellmann Explained

Denise Biellmann
Birth Date:11 December 1962
Birth Place:Zurich, Switzerland
Height:1.60 m
Coach:Heidi Biellmann
(mother)[1]
Retired:1981 (age 18)
Show-Medals:yes

Denise Biellmann (born 11 December 1962) is a Swiss professional figure skater. She was the European and World Champion in 1981 and won the Swiss Championships three times.

Career

Amateur career

Born in Zurich, Biellmann won her first international championship in Belgium at age 8; and, at age 11, she won the Swiss Junior Figure Skating Championships.[2] At age 14, she competed at the 1977 European Championships and placed second in the Free Skate portion of the competition.

At the age of 15, she was the first female skater to land the triple lutz in competition, which she performed for the first time at the 1978 European Championships.[3] At the same event, she became the first woman to receive a 6.0 in Technical Merit, receiving the score from British judge Pauline Borrajo.[3] She was 12th in Figures, first in the Free Skate, and finished fourth overall.[3]

At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, Biellmann again performed poorly in compulsory figures and was in twelfth place. She was second in the short program and won the free skate to finish fourth overall.

The Biellmann spin was named after her;[4] she popularized and perfected the spin, but did not invent it. It was present in skating at least since the 1965 European Championships when Tamara Moskvina performed it. It remains the only figure skating spin to be officially named after a person in ISU regulations.

Biellmann retired from amateur competition at age 18, shortly after her win at the 1981 World Championships.

Professional career

Biellmann remains involved in the international figure skating community as a participant in both professional shows and competitions.

She participated in Pro7 Season 1, partnered with television presenter Pierre Geisensetter, and in Season 2, partnered with actor Patrick Bach.

She participated in the Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 representing Switzerland with partner Sven Ninnemann.

She won the prestigious Challenge of Champions, regarded as the most important professional event, a record 5 times. Along with all her other titles making her perhaps the most successful professional skater ever.

In 2014 Biellmann was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.[5]

Competitive highlights

International
Event73–7474–7575–7676–7777–7878–7979–8080–81
align=left 4th
align=left 15th 10th 5th 5th 6th bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left 6th 4th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd WD bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
National
align=left 5th J bgcolor=gold 1st J 11th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=silver 2nd bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st
J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

Book

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Shaw Communications.
  2. Web site: Denise Biellmann . 2024-05-20 . www.denisebiellmann.com.
  3. News: 2011 European Championships Preview . Alexandra . Stevenson . 2011 . IceSkatingIntnl.com . March 31, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110921114844/http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/archive/results_euros/2011%20Euro%20Preview.htm . September 21, 2011 .
  4. News: The Year in Sports . Sports Illustrated . (photo) . March 13, 1980 . 17.
  5. Web site: World Hall of Fame Members . World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame . 16 August 2019.