Jan Hoffmann

For the Danish footballer, see Jan Hoffmann (footballer).
Jan Hoffmann

Jan Hoffmann in 1976
Personal information
Full name Jan Hoffmann
Country represented  East Germany
Born (1955-10-26) 26 October 1955
Dresden
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Former coach Jutta Müller
Annemarie Halbach
Skating club SC Einheit Dresden

Jan Hoffmann (born 26 October 1955) is a German figure skater who represented East Germany in competition. A four-time Olympian, he is the 1980 Olympic silver medalist, the 1974 & 1980 World Champion, and a four-time (1974, 1977–1979) European Champion.

Personal life

Jan Hoffmann was born on 26 October 1955 in Dresden, East Germany.[1] He is married and has one daughter.

Career

Competitive

Hoffmann's first coach was Annemarie Halbach in Dresden. He later switched to Jutta Müller in Karl-Marx-Stadt (today Chemnitz). He represented the former East Germany in competition. He was one of a handful of figure skaters who rotated clockwise, landing on his left foot.

At the age of 12, Hoffmann competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble and placed 26th. He finished sixth at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, having ranked fourth in figures and tenth in the free skate.

Hoffmann's first gold medal at an ISU Championship came at the 1974 European Championships in Zagreb, where he defeated Sergey Volkov of the Soviet Union and John Curry of the United Kingdom. At the 1974 World Championships in Munich, he placed first in figures, second in the short program, and fifth in the free skate. Finishing ahead of Volkov and Canada's Toller Cranston, he stood atop the world podium for the first time. Later that year, he injured his knee on the trampoline.[2] He had surgery on his meniscus and subsequently missed the entire 1974–75 season.

Hoffmann finished fourth at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck after placing fourth in figures, ninth in the short program, and fifth in the free skate.

At the 1979 European Championships in Zagreb, Hoffmann finished ahead of the Soviet Union's Vladimir Kovalev and the United Kingdom's Robin Cousins to win his fourth continental title. He took bronze behind the same skaters at the 1979 World Championships in Vienna.

In January 1980, Hoffmann placed second to Cousins at the European Championships in Gothenburg. The 1980 Winter Olympics took place in February in Lake Placid, New York. In his fourth Olympics, Hoffmann ranked first in figures, second in the short, and second in the free, winning the silver medal behind Cousins and ahead of Charles Tickner of the United States. He ended his amateur career in March at the 1980 World Championships in Dortmund. Ranked first in figures and second in the next two segments, he finished ahead of Cousins and Tickner and was awarded his second World title.

Post-competitive

Hoffmann studied medicine and became an orthopaedic specialist. He served on the managing board of the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and has appeared as a figure skating judge. He judged the ladies' event at the 1994 Winter Olympics and was one of five judges who placed Oksana Baiul ahead of Nancy Kerrigan. Hoffman also judged the ladies competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics and gave his first-place ordinal to Michelle Kwan.

Results

International
Event 67–68 68–69 69–70 70–71 71–72 72–73 73–74 74–75 75–76 76–77 77–78 78–79 79–80
Olympics 26th 6th 4th 2nd
Worlds 10th 4th 6th 3rd 1st 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st
Europeans 21st 19th 9th 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 2nd
Skate America 3rd
Moscow News 4th
National
East German 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

References

  1. ↑ "Jan Hoffmann". Sports Reference.
  2. ↑ "World skaters in final practices". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. March 3, 1975. p. 9.
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