Kateřina Neumannová

Kateřina Neumannová ( Audio-IPA|Cs-Katerina_Neumannova.ogg| [ˈkatɛr̝ɪna ˈnojmanovaː] ) (born February 15, 1973 in Písek, Czechoslovakia now Czech Republic) is a retired Czech cross country skier. She originally did flatwater canoeing and downhill skiing before moving to cross country skiing at sixteen.

On July 2, 2003, Neumannová became a mother for the first time, giving birth to a girl named Lucie.

On February 17, 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 February 27, 2007.

On February 24, 2006, in her final Olympic race, Neumannová won her first ever Winter Olympic gold medal in the 30 km freestyle mass start and became the oldest winner in the event. Her daughter Lucie greeted her after she laid on the snow-covered ground exhausted from her win in what became one of the more touching moments of those Games.

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

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

Neumannová retired after the 2006-07 World Cup season. [FIS Newsflash 122. April 11, 2007.]

Career overview

Neumannová made her first appearance in the Winter Olympics in 1992 in Albertville. Her goal was only to gain experiences. [http://www.olympic.cz/index.php?clanek=4063 Profile on Czech Olympic Committee's webpage] , accessed August 22 2006] , However in all races (both individual and relay) she belonged to the best Czechoslovak athletes. Two years later in Lillehammer she was already among the best.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"Neumannová neví, zda bude jezdit", MF Dnes, 1996/04/10 page 23] , 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"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] she said before Olympics. But her preparations were not in the best conditions. She practised in a cold weather in Šumava while great heat was expected for Atlanta race "Neumannová se na vedro málem chystala ve sněhu", MF Dnes, 1996/07/18, page 18, available trough [http://mfdnes.newtonit.cz/default.asp?cache=992870] (registration required)] On July 31, 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, USA. But the race itself was a horror for her. She fell of 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 raceOriginal (Czech): "Dojela jsem asi patnáct závodnic, ale pak na mě padla hrozná krize. Už jsem nezávodila, jen jsem se snažila dojet."] . She mainly complained about the terrible heat and said it was one of her worst experiences.

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 ran 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 commentedOriginal (Czech): "Kdyby trať byla tvrdší, věřím, že bych stála na stupni vítězů" ] [(November 25, 1996). Neumannová doběhla čtvrtá i na měkkém sněhu. "MF DNES" p. 13] . 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 [(December 30, 1996). "Neumannová běhala v krutém mrazu suverénně". "MFDNES", p. 02] .

Only two weeks later, on January 11 and 12, 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 ran in Hakuba, Japan on the tracks ready for 1998 Winter Olympics [(January 13, 1997). "Neumannová zazářila v Japonsku". "MF DNES" p. 01] [(January 13, 1997). "Neumannová doběhla v Hakubě dvakrát druhá". "MF DNES" p. 02]

Career successes

* 1992 Olympics in Albertville: 13. at 5 km classical, 14. at 15 km classical, 22. at 10 km free, 6. at relay
* 1993 Junior cross country skiing world championships: 1. at 5 km classical, 3. at 15 km free
* 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer: 14. at 15 km classical, 6. at 10 km free, 8. at 5 km classical, 9. at relay
* 1995 Nordic skiing world championships: 11. at 5 km classical, 13. at combined, 7. at 15 km classical
* 1996 Olympics in Atlanta: 18. Mountain Bike Cross Country "Neumannová ve vedru vzpomínala na mrazy", MF Dnes, 1996/07/31, page 19, available trough [http://mfdnes.newtonit.cz/default.asp?cache=366161] (registration needed)]
* 1997 3. at Cross-country skiing World Cup
* 1997 Nordic skiing world championships: 3. at 15 km free, 4. at combined, 6. at 5 km classical
* 1998 Olympics in Nagano: 2. at 5 km classical, 10 km free 3. místo, 15 km classical, 9. místo, 6. at relay
* 1998 1. at Mountain bike Czech Cup
* 1998 1. at Czech Mountain bike Championships, Velké Losiny
* 1999 Nordic skiing world championships: 3. at 5 km classical
* 1999 3. at Mountain bike Czech Cup
* 1999 1. at Czech Mountain bike Championships, Most
* 2000 Czech Mountain bike Championships, Olomouc, 1. at relay (with Kořínek and Kášek)
* 2000 2. at Czech Mountain bike Championships, Velké Losiny
* 2001 9. at Cross-country skiing World Cup
* 2002 2. at Cross-country skiing World Cup
* 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City: 2. at 15 km free, 2. at combined, 4. at relay, 9. at sprint
* 2002 Czech Championships, Jablonec nad Nisou: 1. at 5 km classical
* 2002 2. at Cross-country skiing World Cup
* 2004 9. at Cross-country skiing World Cup
* 2005 Nordic skiing world championships: 1. at 10 km free, 7. at 30 km classical, 7. at pursuit
* 2006 Olympics in Turin: 1. at 30 km free, 2. at pursuit, 5. at 10 km classical
* 2007 Nordic skiing world championships: 2. at 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, 1. at 10 km free

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009

In late 2006, Neumannová was named an honorary vice president of the organizing committee for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 at Liberec, Czech Republic. On July 25, 2007, she succeeded Roman Kumpost as chair of the organizing committee for the 2009 championships. [FIS NewsFlash 138. August 1, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.neumannova.cz Official Website] cs icon
* [http://www.olympic.cz/index.php?clanek=4063 Profile on Czech Olympic Committee's webpage] cs icon
* [http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/famous-czechs-of-the-past-century/katerina-neumannova/ Kateřina Neumannová] - profile
*FIS|S=CC|ID=43218|name=Katerina Neumannova
* [http://www.liberec2009.com/pics/design/organgram.jpg2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships organizational chart]