Rudi Cerne

Rudi Cerne (born September 26 1958 in Wanne-Eickel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) was a German figure skater and now works as a TV presenter.

Rudi Cerne skated for the club Herner EV and represented West Germany. His coach was Günter Zöller. In the early 80s he was part of West Germany's men's figure skating team, which also consisted of Norbert Schramm and Heiko Fischer. Cerne was most known for his elegant style, which emulated that of John Curry, and his strong edging.

His career started out strong, when he won the German Figure Skating Championships in 1978 and 1980. Then, in 1981, a younger teammate, Norbert Schramm, emerged and went on to dominate not only the German Nationals but also various international competitions. Schramm won two consecutive world silver medals in 1982 and 1983 while Cerne could barely place in the top dozen, which prompted many to conclude that Cerne's career as the top West German male skater was over.

In 1984, however, 26-year-old Cerne entered the scene with a new attitude and consistent triple jumps.Fact|date=February 2008 Most notably, Cerne had mastered the triple Lutz jump, which he needed in order to be technically competitive with Schramm as well as other top skaters. This was a task many thought was impossible, since most skaters find it difficult to master a new jump once they reach their early 20s.Fact|date=February 2008

Due to these improvements, he still just qualified the German Nationals bronze medallist to qualify for the Europeans, but continued to win the silver medal at the European Championships behind Alexandr Fadeev of the Soviet Union. Then, he came in 4th at the Olympics, although he had several errors in his free skating routine. After the World Championships in 1984 Rudi Cerne turned professional and skated at "Holiday on Ice". He also became a figure skating coach.

After his figure skating career he became a TV journalist, working initially for the German public TV station ARD, presenting sport shows from 1992 onwards. Since 1996 Rudi Cerne has worked for ZDF, Germany's other public broadcaster. He still presents sport shows but also presents "Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst", a show about unresolved crimes.

Since 1978 Rudi Cerne has been married to his wife Christiane, with whom he has one daughter.

Results

= Olympic Games =

* 1980 – 13th place
* 1984 – 4th place

= World Championships =

* 1978 – 14th place
* 1979 – did not participate
* 1980 – 11th place
* 1981 – did not participate
* 1982 – 15th place
* 1983 – 10th place
* 1984 – 5th place

= European Championships =

* 1978 – 7th place
* 1979 – did not participate
* 1980 – withdrawn
* 1981 – did not participate
* 1982 – 4th place
* 1983 – 7th place
* 1984 – 2nd place

= German Championships =

* 1972 – 4th place
* 1973 – 4th place
* 1974 – 5th place
* 1975 – 6th place
* 1976 – 4th place
* 1977 – 4th place
* 1978 – 1st place
* 1979 – did not participate
* 1980 – 1st place
* 1981 – 2nd place
* 1982 – 2nd place
* 1983 – 3rd place
* 1984 – 3rd place

German Senior Championships

* 1971 – 1st place(At this time German championships were held for juniors, seniors and master class skaters)

German Junior Championships

* 1970 – 1st place

See also

* Figure Skating
* World Figure Skating Championships
* European Figure Skating Championships

References

* [http://www.mdr.de/hier-ab-vier/promiadressen/503600.html MDR German TV Station]

Persondata
NAME=Cerne, Rudi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=German figure skater
DATE OF BIRTH=September 26 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH=Wanne-Eickel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=