Christine Diane Witty (born June 23, 1975) is an American

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

and

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

and participated in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

in both sports. She won medals at both 1000 and 1500 meters in the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

. In 2002, she won the Olympic gold medal at the 1000 meters in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, setting a world record in the process. In 1996 she became World Champion Sprint, in 1997 and 1998 she became second and in 2000 she became third. In 1998 she won the gold medal at the World Single Distance Championships at the 1000 m, in 1996 the silver and in 2000 the bronze medal at the same distance. In 2000, she placed fifth overall in the 500 m cycling time trials at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, becoming only the ninth American ever to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In 2006, she was elected by her teammates to carry the United States flag at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

Personal life

Witty has reported that she had experienced

childhood abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

from a trusted neighbor since she was 4 till the age of 11 years, and she kept the secret for years. Witty currently lives with her partner, former Dutch long track speed skater Frouke Oonk.

Records

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com Witty holds the 1000m Olympic Record with a time of 1:13.83 which was set at the

2002 Olympic Winter games The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

in the

Utah Olympic Oval The Utah Olympic Oval is an indoor speed skating oval located southwest of Salt Lake City, in Kearns, Utah. The Oval was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and it hosted the long track speed skating events for the 2002 games. Inside the facili ...

, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Achievements

*1996 World Sprint Championships: gold *1996 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m: silver *1997 World Sprint Championships: bronze *1998 World Sprint Championships: bronze *1998 Olympic Winter Games, 1000 m: silver *1998 Olympic Winter Games, 1500 m: bronze *1998 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m: gold *2000 World Sprint Championships: bronze *2000 World Single Distance Championships, 1000 m: bronze *2002 Olympic Winter Games, 1000 m: gold She competed in track cycling in the

, where she placed 5th in the 500m time trial.

References

External links

Chris Witty at SpeedSkatingStats.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witty, Chris 1975 births Living people American female cyclists Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of the United States People from West Allis, Wisconsin Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Cyclists at the 2003 Pan American Games World record setters in speed skating American female speed skaters Lesbian sportswomen Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Wisconsin American LGBT sportspeople LGBT people from Wisconsin American expatriates in the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists for the United States in speed skating Olympic silver medalists for the United States in speed skating Pan American Games medalists in cycling Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States LGBT cyclists LGBT speed skaters Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American women Cyclists from Wisconsin