Denise Biellmann (born 11 December 1962) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

professional

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. She was the

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and

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and won the Swiss Championships three times.

Career

Amateur career

Born in Zurich, Biellmann won her first international championship in

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at age 8; and, at age 11, she won the Swiss Junior Figure Skating Championships. At age 14, she competed at the 1977 European Championships and placed second in the Free Skate portion of the competition. At the age of 15, she was the first female skater to land the triple lutz in competition, which she performed for the first time at the 1978 European Championships. At the same event, she became the first woman to receive a 6.0 in Technical Merit, receiving the score from British judge Pauline Borrajo. She was 12th in Figures, first in the Free Skate, and finished fourth overall. At the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

in Lake Placid, Biellmann again performed poorly in

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

and was in twelfth place. She was second in the short program and won the free skate to finish fourth overall. The

Biellmann spin The Biellmann spin is a difficult variation of the layback spin in figure skating. It was made popular by world champion Denise Biellmann. Description The Biellmann spin is a difficult variation of the layback spin in figure skating. It is exe ...

was named after her; she popularized and perfected the spin, but did not invent it. It was present in skating at least since the 1965 European Championships when

Tamara Moskvina Tamara Nikolayevna Moskvina (, née Bratus, Братусь; born 26 June 1941) is a Russian pair skating coach and former competitive skater. Competing in pairs with Alexei Mishin, she became the 1969 World silver medalist and Soviet national ...

performed it. It remains the only figure skating spin to be officially named after a person in ISU regulations. Biellmann retired from amateur competition at age 18, shortly after her win at the 1981 World Championships.

Professional career

Biellmann remains involved in the international figure skating community as a participant in both professional shows and competitions. She participated in Pro7 Season 1, partnered with television presenter Pierre Geisensetter, and in Season 2, partnered with actor

Patrick Bach Patrick Bach (born 30 March 1968) is a German actor and voice actor. His parents are Beate Molina and lawyer Horst Bach. He was discovered while playing a football game and was given the title role in the miniseries ''Silas'', based on the book ...

. She participated in the

Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 The Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 was the inaugural edition of the Eurovision Dance Contest, a dance competition co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster BBC. The first ever pan-European dance competition wa ...

representing Switzerland with partner Sven Ninnemann. She won the prestigious Challenge of Champions, regarded as the most important professional event, a record 5 times. Along with all her other titles making her perhaps the most successful professional skater ever. In 2014 Biellmann was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Competitive highlights

Book

* ''Denise Biellmann – Die Biografie''. Cameo, Bern 2022, ISBN 978-3-03951-011-5.

References

External links

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YouTube video
- 1980 Winter Olympics {{DEFAULTSORT:Biellmann, Denise 1962 births Living people Figure skaters from Zürich Olympic figure skaters of Switzerland Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Swiss female single skaters World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists