Denise Biellmann

Denise Biellmann (born 11 December 1962) is a Swiss professional figure skater. She was the European and World Champion in 1981 and won the Swiss Championships three times.

Career

Amateur career Born in Zurich, Biellmann won her first international championship in Belgium 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 1978 Ennia Challenge Cup, Biellmann, winner of the women's event, had her name given to a new strain of tulip, and a bouquet of her namesake tulips was presented to her by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.

At the age of 15, she was the second female skater to land the triple Lutz jump in competition, after Jill Sawyer, 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.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, Biellmann again performed poorly in compulsory figures and was in twelfth place. She was second in the short program and won the free skate to finish fourth overall. She won the gold medal at the 1981 European Championships and another gold medal at 1981 Worlds. 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 performed it. It remains the only figure skating spin to be officially named after a person in ISU regulations.

According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Biellmann's forte was the more athletic aspects of the free skating program, including "outstanding jumps and fast spins".

Competitive highlights International Event 73–74 74–75 75–76 76–77 77–78 78–79 79–80 80–81 Winter Olympics 4th World Champ. 15th 10th 5th 5th 6th 1st European Champ. 6th 4th 3rd WD 1st NHK Trophy 1st Richmond Trophy 3rd St. Gervais 2nd 1st International Challenge Cup 1st National Swiss Champ. 5th J 1st J 11th 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

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