Pechstein, Claudia (1972–)

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Pechstein, Claudia (1972–)

East German speedskater. Born Feb 22, 1972, in Berlin, Germany.

Won a bronze medal for the 3,000 at Albertville Olympics (1992); won a gold medal for the 5,000 meters and a bronze for the 3,000 meters at Lillehammer Olympics (1994); won a silver medal at Nagano Olympics for the 3,000 meters and a gold medal for the 5,000, the 2nd woman to skate under 7 minutes with a time of 6:59.61 (1998); at World Cup (2001), was the 1st woman to skate the 3,000 meters in under 4 minutes; at Salt Lake City, won her 3rd consecutive gold medal in the 5,000 meters and a gold medal in the 3,000 meters, breaking her own world record (2002); won a gold medal for Team Pursuit and a silver medal for 5,000 meters at Torino Olympics (2006).

See also Women in World History.