Skip to content Skip to a section

⛸️Germany

Germany · Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) and other centers

Major honours

12 (1934-1939)Christl Cranz's World titles
1984, 1988Katarina Witt's consecutive Olympic golds
2018 (pairs)Aljona Savchenko's Olympic gold
5Savchenko's World titles

Germany has produced a dominant women's skater in nearly every era spanning its division and reunification. Pre-war Germany's Christl Cranz won 12 World Championship titles between 1934 and 1939, still the most world titles ever held by any skater in the sport, and also took the combined gold at the 1936 Garmisch Olympics. East Germany's Katarina Witt became the first woman since Sonja Henie to defend an Olympic singles title with golds in 1984 and 1988, developing under Jutta Müller's state-driven, systematic program in Karl-Marx-Stadt. After reunification, Aljona Savchenko, naturalized as German, added five world titles and a 2018 Olympic gold in pairs, while Maria Höfl-Riesch is more associated with other winter sports, though Germany maintains a particularly strong tradition in pairs and women's singles.

Record comparison

Olympic golds
6+
Olympic medals
10+
World titles
20+
World champions produced
6+

Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.

Club legends

Christl CranzKatarina WittAljona Savchenko

Rivalry

The 1988 Calgary Olympics 'Battle of the Carmens' between Katarina Witt and the United States' Debi Thomas remains the most iconic moment between Germany and the United States in this sport.

More teams

Back to teams →