Karin Büttner-Janz ( Janz, born 17 February 1952) is a German medical doctor who won World and Olympic gold medals in

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

for

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. She is co-inventor of the first artificial

intervertebral disc An intervertebral disc (British English), also spelled intervertebral disk (American English), lies between adjacent vertebrae in the vertebral column. Each disc forms a fibrocartilaginous joint (a symphysis), to allow slight movement of the ver ...

, and from 1990 to 2012, she was chief physician of clinics in Berlin, Germany. She has a foundation named Spinefoundation.

Gymnastics career

Büttner-Janz began training in gymnastics when she was five. Her first coach was her father, Guido Janz. Büttner-Janz moved to a sports school in Forst when she was 10, where she boarded during the week and visited her parents on weekends; she later said "that was not good at this age". She moved to a training center in Berlin in 1966. She trained under Klaus Helbeck, and her final coach was Jürgen Heritz. At 14, she became the East German champion. In 1967, at the age of 15, Büttner-Janz was nominated as East German Athlete of the Year after a silver medal on the uneven bars and a bronze medal on the vault at the European championship in Amsterdam. She went on to win the silver medal on the

uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...

and a bronze medal as part of the country's gymnastics team at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. At the 1970 world championships, she overcame

Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, U ...

on the uneven bars to win the gold medal. In a controversial finish, she delivered another gold medal-winning performance on the uneven bars, her best apparatus, at the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, defeating

Olga Korbut Olga Valentinovna Korbut (born 16 May 1955) is a Belarusian retired gymnastics, gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Old World sparrow, Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olymp ...

; the audience protested her score for ten minutes. She also won the gold medal on the vault, a silver medal as part of the East German women's gymnastics team, another silver medal in the all-around competition behind

and ahead of

Tamara Lazakovich Tamara Vasilyevna Lazakovich (; 11 March 1954 – 1 November 1992) was a Soviet artistic gymnast who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Described as a "perky sparrow" with a "purity of line", Lazakovich was spotted by her compatriot, Olympi ...

, and bronze on the balance beam. She was the most successful German athlete at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich and was afterwards recognized as GDR (German Democratic Republic) Sportswoman of the Year in 1972. After these successes, she announced her intention of ending her competitive career to turn to the study of medicine to become a physician. Büttner-Janz has an uneven bars element named after her, the ''Janz Salto'', which she first performed in competition at the

SV Dynamo The Sportvereinigung Dynamo () (''Dynamo Sports Association'') was the Sports associations (East Germany), sport association of the security agencies (Volkspolizei, Stasi, Ministry for State Security, fire department and customs) of former East ...

Spartakiade The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, 1971.

Academic physician

Büttner-Janz studied at the

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

beginning in 1971, when she was still competing, and earned her degree in human medicine, with her thesis examining emergency medicine. Later, she conducted her clinical semester at the orthopedic hospital of the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

and went on to specialize in

orthopaedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

. She obtained her postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation treatise) through her work on the development of the first artificial spinal disc, known as the ''Charité Disc''. She developed the device together with her colleague Kurt Schellnack. In 1990, Büttner-Janz moved from the Charité Berlin to the orthopedic clinic of Berlin-Hellersdorf, then in 2001 to the

Vivantes The Vivantes Hospital Group is a state-owned healthcare company operating hospitals, primary healthcare centers, nursing facilities, and other medical centers in Berlin. The company runs 10 hospitals with a total capacity of about 6,000 beds and ...

clinic of Berlin-Friedrichshain. From 2008 to 2012, she was Chief Physician of trauma surgery and orthopaedics at the Vivantes clinic in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Büttner-Janz was often in conflict with other employees at the clinic, who felt she was authoritarian and disliked demands she made, such as not allowing patients from other departments to be moved through the orthopaedics ward, which she said was against regulations and unhygienic for her patients. In 2011, she entered a relationship with Dorothea Dreizehnter, a managing director at the clinic. Other chief physicians at the clinic accused her of using the relationship for unfair treatment, although no evidence for this was ever presented. In March 2012, she was told that she was being put on leave of absence. When she contacted the supervisory board of the company, saying that she was dismissed from her position as Chief Physician due to her relationship with Dreizehnter, her superior banned her from the hospital and dismissed her immediately. Büttner-Janz filed a lawsuit over her dismissal and alleged discrimination due to her same-sex relationship; both sides agreed to a settlement, from which she received the amount of her annual salary and an unusually large settlement of €590,000. Several of her colleagues resigned from the hospital as well. In 2012, she began a foundation named Spinefoundation, which is focused on scientific research and public awareness of spinal issues. In 2005, she became a professor of orthopaedics at the Charité-Unviversitätsmedizin Berlin. From 2008 to 2009 she was president of the Spine Arthroplasty Society (later renamed to International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery). From 2014 to 2016, she studied at the

Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (''University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics'') or HTW Berlin in Berlin, Germany is the largest public University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and Eastern Germany. It has over 13,000 stude ...

and became Master of Business Administration (MBA) in general management.

Honours

*1972 – awarded the title of

Merited Master of Sport of the USSR Unified All-Russian Sports Classification () is a system which regulates the Russian physical education system requirements for both athletes and coaches. History In the Soviet period Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR () exist ...

. *2003 – inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IG ...

Competition History

References

External links