Background
Mandy Wötzel was born 21 July 1973 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, East Germany.
Mandy Wötzel was born 21 July 1973 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, East Germany.
Wötzel and Rauschenbach competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where they finished 8th.
Early career
Wötzel began skating as a child. She skated for the club South Carolina Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was renamed to South Carolina Chemnitz after German reunification. Rauschenbach"s skate blade struck Wötzel"s head in 1989 while they were performing side-by-side camel spins.
She was in hospital for three months and missed half a year of school.
Following the season, Rauschenbach ended their partnership to work at a bank. Partnership with Steuer
Scheibe initially 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.
Both were accepted into the sports division of the German army, supporting athletes. Wötzel and 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.
During the long program at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Wötzel tripped on a rut and fell to the ice, cutting her chin. Steuer carried her off the ice. 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. Steuer underwent his fifth or sixth knee surgery in mid-1997.
On December 8, 1997, a passing car"s side window hit Steuer"s arm, partly tearing ligaments in his right shoulder. Pain radiated to his neck and face and caused headaches but he continued to skate.
When he caught her during a triple twist in the long program, Steuer felt a sharp pain that extended to his head
They stayed off the ice for the following three weeks. They then retired from competition and skated in shows and professional events. In a 2006 interview, Wötzel said that their partnership was "hell" and she felt anxiety at the sight of Steuer.
Later career
In autumn 2006, Wötzel participated in the television show Dancing on Ice on the German channel RTL, partnered with boxer Sven Ottke.
Wötzel works as a skating coach in Australia. She started teaching at the Olympic Ice Rink in Oakleigh, Melbourne in 2008.
With Steuer
With Rauschenbach
With Ingo Steuer
With Axel Rauschenbach.