A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Witt won the first of her two Olympic gold medals for East Germany at the Sarajevo Olympics , before winning a second at the Calgary Olympics. She is one of only two skaters to defend a ladies' singles Olympic title, the other being Norwegian Sonja Henie.
Witt is a four-time World Champion , , , and two-time World silver medalist , She won six consecutive European Championships β , a feat equalled only by Henie among female skaters. Between and , Witt won ten gold medals from eleven major international events, making her one of the most successful figure skaters ever. Retiring from competitive skating after defending her Olympic title in , Witt reappeared at the Winter Olympics where she represented a reunified Germany while skating a Robin Hood -themed program, a comeback performance which saw her receive the Goldene Kamera award.
Since her subsequent retirement, Witt has worked in film and television. Witt was born in Staaken at that time a district of Falkensee in East Germany , just outside West Berlin , which is today part of Berlin. There, she attended the Kinder- und Jugendsportschule , a special school for athletically talented children.
Witt trained six days a week, [ 3 ] sometimes for seven hours a day with three hours spent on compulsory figures. Witt made her first appearance in a major international competition at the European Championships , finishing 14th at the event.
At the World Championships, she placed 1st in the short, 3rd in the long, and 2nd in the combined free skate, missing a medal due to low placement in figures.
