Kateřina Neumannová

Kateřina Neumannová (born 15 February 1973) is a Czech retired cross-country skier. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the 30 km freestyle event. She is one of five cross country skiers to have competed at six Olympics.

She was also the first Czech woman to appear in both a Summer and Winter Olympics, having participated in the mountain biking event at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Neumannová retired after the 2006-07 World Cup season.

Career overview She was a flatwater canoeist and downhill skier before moving to cross country skiing at sixteen. Neumannová made her first appearance in the Winter Olympics in 1992 in Albertville. Her goal was only to gain experience. However, in all races (both individual and relay) she belonged to the best Czechoslovak athletes. and she also qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Although cross-country skiing remained her main sport and her summer training was usually lighter, she took preparations for Atlanta seriously. "This time I left out the pleasant period and started abruptly. Thanks to it I achieved results in athletic tests that I last run in junior categories," she said before the Olympics. But her preparations were not in the best conditions. She practised in cold weather in Šumava while great heat was expected for the Atlanta race. On 31 July 1996, she became the first Czech female athlete to compete on both Winter and Summer Olympics when starting in the mountain bike race at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia, United States. She fell off the bike early in the race. "I overrun about 15 racers but then a terrible crisis came upon me. I did not race anymore, I just wanted to finish," she described the race. She mainly complained about the terrible heat and said it was one of her worst experiences. At the end of the year she clearly dominated the Czech Championships on 5 km free and 10 km classic. She commented it was mainly training for her as the main goal for the season was World Championships. For it she announced a goal to finish among best six.

Only two weeks later, on 11 and 12 January, she achieved two second places in the World Cup. It was again on the 5 km and 10 km distances, but this time it was 5 km classic and 10 km free. The race was run in Hakuba, Japan on the tracks ready for 1998 Winter Olympics

On 17 February 2005, she won the 10 km free at the Nordic skiing World Championships. Neumannová defended her 10 km free title at the following championships in Sapporo on 27 February 2007.

On 24 February 2006, in her 20th and final Olympic race, Neumannová won her sixth Olympic medal, but first Winter Olympic gold medal in the 30 km freestyle mass start and became the oldest winner in the event.

On 14 January 2007 Neumannová received the title Czech Sportsperson of the Year 2006, a trophy awarded by journalists in the Czech Republic.

2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships In late 2006, Neumannová was named an honorary vice president of the organizing committee for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, the Czech Republic. On 25 July 2007, she succeeded Roman Kumpost as chair of the organizing committee for the 2009 championships.

Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games 6 medals – (1 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) Year Age 5 km 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km relay Team sprint 1992 19 13 14 22 — 6 1994 21 8 14 6 — 9 1998 25 Silver 9 Bronze — 6 2002 29 — Silver Silver — 13 4 2006 33 5 Silver Gold — 6 —

World Championships 5 medals – (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 5 km 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km relay Team sprint 1991 18 15 — 28 — 8 1993 20 8 16 5 — 5 1995 22 11 7 13 DNF 8 1997 24 6 Bronze 4 — 5 1999 26 Bronze — 7 2001 28 — 9 — — 2005 32 Gold7 7 — 6 — 2007 34 Gold Silver — — 5 —

a. Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup Season standings Season Age Discipline standingsSki Tour standingsOverallDistanceLong DistanceMiddle DistanceSprintTour deSki 1991 18 46 1992 19 19 1993 20 7 1994 21 12 1995 22 14 1996 23 8 1997 24 8 1998 25 15 46 9 1999 26 6 18 2000 27 17 20 18 17 2001 28 9 12 2002 29 2004 31 9 8 21 2005 32 41 2006 33 5 — 2007 34 24 5

Individual podiums 19 victories – (18 , 1 ) 49 podiums – (48 , 1 )

Team podiums

1 victory – (1 ) 2 podiums – (1 , 1 )

No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)1 1998–998 March 1999 Vantaa, Finland Team Sprint F World Cup 1st Hanušová2 2006–07 17 December 2006 La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Erbenová / Rajdlová / Janečková

Note: Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Personal life On 2 July 2003, Neumannová gave birth to a daughter, Lucie Neumannová.