Ingo Steuer

Ingo Steuer

Ingo Steuer in 2014
Personal information
Country represented Germany
East Germany
Born (1966-11-01) 1 November 1966
Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany
Residence Chemnitz, Saxony
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Former partner Mandy Wötzel, Ines Müller, Manuela Landgraf
Former coach Monika Scheibe
Skating club Eislaufverein Chemnitz
Retired 1998
Medal record
Competitor for  Germany
Figure skating: Pairs
Olympic Games
1998 Nagano Pairs
World Championships
1997 Lausanne Pairs
1996 Edmonton Pairs
1993 Prague Pairs
European Championships
1997 Paris Pairs
1996 Sofia Pairs
1995 Dortmund Pairs
1993 Helsinki Pairs
Grand Prix Final
1997–98 Tokyo Pairs
1996–97 Hamilton Pairs
1995–96 Paris Pairs
Competitor for  East Germany
World Junior Championships
1984 Sapporo Pairs

Ingo Steuer (born 1 November 1966) is a German pair skater and skating coach. With Mandy Wötzel, he is the 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1997 World champion, the 1995 European champion, and a four-time German national champion. As a coach, he has led Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany to multiple world and European titles.

Personal life

Ingo Steuer was born 1 November 1966 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, East Germany. His son, Hugo, was born in 2003.[2][3]

Competitive career

Early career

Steuer began to skate as a young child. Domestically, he represented the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was renamed SC Chemnitz after German reunification. He skated for East Germany internationally until 1990 and then the combined Germany.

Steuer took up pair skating in the early 1980s, teaming up with Manuela Landgraf. They were coached by Monika Scheibe. In 1984, Landgraf/Steuer became the first Germans to win the World Junior Championships.[4] After they split, Steuer skated with Ines Müller for several years. Their best results were 7th places at the Europeans. Müller quit after the 1990–91 season.[5]

Partnership with Wötzel

Steuer was left without a partner during 1991–92 season. He trained at the same rink and under the same coach, Monika Scheibe, as Mandy Wötzel / Axel Rauschenbach.[5] When that pair split in 1992, Scheibe hesitated to put Wötzel and Steuer together due to doubts about whether their personalities would work well together but she was persuaded after seeing their tryout.[5] After less than a year together, Wötzel/Steuer won the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 World Championships. Both were accepted into the sports division of the German army, supporting athletes.[5]

Wötzel/Steuer had a few accidents during their career. She knocked him out with her elbow while practicing the twist lift and he broke her nose while practicing another lift.[5][6] During the long program at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Wötzel tripped on a rut and fell to the ice, cutting her chin.[7] Steuer carried her off the ice.[5] The pair was forced to withdraw from the competition and Wötzel had to have stitches. They skated at the 1994 World Championships one month later, and finished fourth. In a humorous touch, after the program, Steuer carried Wötzel off the ice just as he had at the Olympics.[5]

Wötzel/Steuer won the 1995 European Championships and the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Steuer underwent his fifth or sixth knee surgery in mid-1997.[5] On 8 December 1997, a passing car's side window hit Steuer's arm, partly tearing ligaments in his right shoulder.[7][8] Pain radiated to his neck and face and caused headaches but he continued to skate.[5][7] Wötzel/Steuer won the silver medal at the Champions Series Final, held 19–20 December 1997 in Munich, Germany. When he caught her during a triple twist in the long program, Steuer felt a sharp pain that extended to his head.[7] They stayed off the ice for the following three weeks.[7] Wötzel/Steuer missed the 1998 European Championships as a result but returned in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where they won the bronze medal. They then retired from competition and skated in shows and professional events.

Coaching career

After his skating career ended, Steuer began working as a coach and choreographer based in Chemnitz. Skaters he has worked with include:

Steuer said he would leave Germany if the Interior Ministry and Deutsche Eislauf-Union did not resolve his status.[13][12] On 21 July 2014, the DOSB Stasi Commission announced that it would allow Steuer to work for the DEU and receive public funds.[14]

Stasi activities and legal battles

In the 1980s, Ingo Steuer was an informant for the Stasi, the East German secret police. His activities included circulating information on his countrymen. Because of this, he has been a controversial figure in Germany. Prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics, an investigation by the National Olympic Committee determined that his involvement was so severe as to exclude him from the national team. The matter eventually went to court, where a judge ruled in Steuer's favor. At the 2006 Torino games, however, he was forbidden to wear the German team clothes. Savchenko/Szolkowy were encouraged to find a different coach, and Steuer was denied accreditation at several events. Savchenko/Szolkowy eventually went to court to appeal against this decision, and the judge ruled in their favor.[15] At the 2010 Vancouver games, he was allowed to wear German team clothes and associate with the team.[16][17]

In June 2010, the Frankfurt Landgericht rejected Steuer's lawsuit against the Bundeswehr, however, in March 2011, the Brandenburg Oberlandesgericht ruled in his favor; the Bundeswehr may appeal to the Federal Court of Justice of Germany.[18]

Programs

(with Wötzel)

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
1997–1998
  • No Holly For Miss Quinn
    Enya
  • Wings of Hope
    by Danny Wright
  • In Memory from Moods of Indigo
    Danny Wright
1996–1997
1995–1996
    1994–1995
    • No Holly For Miss Quinn
      by Enya
    1993–1994
    1992–1993
    • Black Machine
    Professional career
    • Last Dance
      by Donna Summer

    Results

    With Mandy Wötzel

    International
    Event 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98
    Winter Olympics WD 3rd
    World Championships 2nd 4th 5th 2nd 1st
    European Championships 2nd 5th 1st 2nd 2nd
    Champions Series Final 3rd 1st 2nd
    GP Skate Canada 1st 1st
    GP Trophée Lalique 3rd 2nd
    GP Cup of Russia 1st
    GP NHK Trophy 3rd 2nd
    GP Nations Cup 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st
    Piruetten 1st
    National
    German Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st
    GP = Became part of Champions Series (Grand Prix) in 1995–96 season
    WD = Withdrew

    With Ines Müller

    International
    Event 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91
    European Championships 7th 7th
    Nations Cup 5th
    Skate Canada International 5th
    National
    German Championships 4th
    East German Champ. 3rd 3rd

    With Manuela Landgraf

    International
    Event 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86
    World Championships 8th 11th
    European Championships 5th 5th
    World Junior Champ. 1st
    National
    East German Champ. 2nd

    References

    1. ↑ "Ingo Steuer". Sports Reference.
    2. ↑ Zorn, Roland (27 November 2003). "Seltsames Solo eines Paarläufers". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
    3. ↑ "Unser Gold-Dreier". Bild (in German). 24 January 2008.
    4. ↑ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2013.
    5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hersh, Philip (4 February 1998). "German Pair Find Skating Is Easiest Part". Chicago Tribune.
    6. ↑ Klimke, Barbara (4 January 1997). "Aber die Gefahr tanzt immer mit" [Danger always present]. Berliner Zeitung (in German).
    7. 1 2 3 4 5 Longman, Jere (4 February 1998). "OLYMPICS: NAGANO 1998; Taking Life and Its Scars and Pains". The New York Times.
    8. ↑ Bondy, Filip (4 February 1998). "Daring Pair Might Break Ice". Daily News (New York).
    9. ↑ Vernon, Nadin (4 December 2010). "An interview with Ingo Steuer". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
    10. ↑ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (20 January 2012). "French skaters channeling high hopes for Euros". Ice Network. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012.
    11. ↑ "Daria POPOVA / Bruno MASSOT: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
    12. 1 2 Nagel, Ramona (8 May 2014). "Sportbund will Perspektive für Ingo Steuer". Freie Presse (Saxony) (in German).
    13. ↑ ""Gute Angebote" - Eiskunstlauf-Trainer Steuer denkt an Wechsel" [Figure skating coach Steuer considers move]. Sport-Informations-Dienst (in German) (zeit.de). 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014.
    14. ↑ "Grünes Licht für Ingo Steuer" [Green light for Ingo Steuer]. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 21 July 2014.
    15. ↑ Flade, Tatjana (10 July 2007). "Mission accomplished". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
    16. ↑ "Stasi past still overshadows German coach". Vancouver, Canada: NBC.com. Agence France-Presse. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
    17. ↑ Donegan, Lawrence (15 February 2010). "Germany skating coach Ingo Steuer tarnished by Stasi past". The Guardian.
    18. ↑ "Trainer Steuer gewinnt Klage gegen Bundeswehr" [Coach Steuer wins lawsuit against Bundeswehr]. Sport-Informations-Dienst / Deutsche Presse-Agentur (in German). Die Welt. 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012.

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