Kateřina Neumannová


Kateřina Neumannová 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 she belonged to the best Czechoslovak athletes. Two years later, in Lillehammer, she was already among the best. She was 8th in 5 km classical and 6th in combination with 10 km free.
Her training during summer involved riding mountain bike and when the sport become popular she decided to race in it. Thanks to her strong muscles she quickly achieved successes. In 1995, she won a bronze medal at the European Championships, 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. But the race itself was a horror for her. 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.

First major medal

Neumannová started the 1996/1997 season with a fourth place in the World Cup opener. The race took place in Kiruna and was run on 5 km free. Neumannová was content with the result but complained about soft snow she did not like. "If the track was more firm, I believe I would stand on the platform", she commented. 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 final Olympic race, Neumannová won her 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.

Olympic Games

Year Age 5 km 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km
relay 		Team
sprint
199219131422—6
1994218147—9
199825Silver9Bronze—6
200229—SilverSilver—134
2006335SilverGold—6—

World Championships

Year Age 5 km 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km Sprint 4 × 5 km
relay 		Team
sprint
1993208165—5
19952211713—8
1997246Bronze4—5
199926Bronze—7
200128—9——
200532Gold77—6—
200734GoldSilver——5—

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
11992–9312 December 1992 Ramsau, Austria5 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
2 1995–96 9 December 1995 Davos, Switzerland5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
3 1995–96 4 February 1996 Reit im Winkl, Germany1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
4 1996–97 11 January 1997 Hakuba, Japan5 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
5 1996–97 12 January 1997 Hakuba, Japan10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup2nd
6 1996–97 21 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway15 km Individual FWorld Championships3rd
7 1996–97 8 March 1997 Falun, Sweden5 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
8 1997–98 22 November 1997 Beitostølen, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
9 1997–98 8 January 1998 Ramsau, Austria10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
10 1997–98 9 January 1998 Ramsau, Austria5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
111998–9928 November 1998 Muonio, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
121998–9912 December 1998 Toblach, Italy5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
131998–999 January 1999 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
141998–9922 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria5 km Individual CWorld Championships3rd
151998–999 January 1999 Lahti, Finland10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
16 1999–00 28 December 1999 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup3rd
17 2000–01 17 December 2000 Brusson, Italy1.0 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
18 2000–01 10 January 2001 Soldier Hollow, United States5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup1st
192001–0225 November 2001 Kuopio, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
202001–029 December 2001 Cogne, Italy1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
212001–0229 December 2001 Salzburg, Austria1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup2nd
222001–025 January 2002 Val di Fiemme, Italy5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup3rd
232001–026 January 2002 Val di Fiemme, Italy1.5 km Sprint FWorld Cup1st
242001–0212 January 2002 Nové Město, Czech Republic5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
252003–0420 December 2003 Ramsau, Austria10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
262003–046 January 2004 Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup1st
272003–0417 January 2004 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
282003–046 February 2004 La Clusaz, France10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
292003–0421 February 2004 Umeå, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
302003–0413 March 2004 Pragelato, Italy15 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
312004–0526 November 2004 Rukatunturi, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
322004–0528 November 2004 Rukatunturi, Finland10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
332004–058 January 2005 Otepää, Estonia10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
342004–0515 January 2005 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
352004–0522 January 2005 Pragelato, Italy7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
362004–056 March 2005 Lahti, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
372004–0512 March 2005 Oslo, Norway30 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
382004–0519 March 2005 Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
392005–0627 November 2005 Rukatunturi, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
402005–0631 December 2005 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
412005–0614 January 2006 Lago di Tesero, Italy15 km Mass Start FWorld Cup1st
422005–0621 January 2006 Oberstdorf, Germany7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup3rd
432005–068 March 2006 Falun, Sweden5 km + 5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd
442005–0611 March 2006 Oslo, Norway30 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
452006–0718 November 2006 Gällivare, Sweden10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
462006–077 January 2007 Cavalese, Italy10 km Individual FStage World Cup1st
472006–0720 January 2007 Rybinsk, Russia15 km Mass Start FWorld Cup2nd
482006–0716 February 2007 Changchun, China10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
492006–0724 March 2007 Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Pursuit C/FWorld Cup2nd

Team podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammate
11998–998 March 1999 Vantaa, FinlandTeam Sprint FWorld Cup1stHanušová
2 2006–07 17 December 2006 La Clusaz, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdErbenová / 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 girl named Lucie.