Constanze Paulinus (born 9 July 1985 in Berlin) is a German former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. She won five senior international medals, including gold at the 2008 Cup of Nice, and three German national medals.

Personal life

Constanze Paulinus was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. In mid-1993, following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother and sister to

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

. She returned to Germany in August 2002, settling in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

Career

Paulinus began skating at age five and trained in

until she was eight. After moving to the U.K., she was coached by Catherine Barker in

Billingham Billingham is a List of towns in England, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed as part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees unitary authority ...

, by Debbie and Simon Briggs in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and by Joy Sutcliff in

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. At the British Championships, Paulinus won silver on the novice level in the 2000–01 season and junior gold the following season. The

National Ice Skating Association British Ice Skating (formerly the National Ice Skating Association) is the national governing body of ice skating within the United Kingdom. Formed in 1879, it is responsible for overseeing all disciplines of ice skating: figure skating (sing ...

decided not to send her to the 2002 World Junior Championships, believing she was not ready. In August 2002, Paulinus' parents sent her to

, Germany to train under Ilona Schindler. She began representing her birth country internationally after sitting out the mandatory two years. She received two

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

assignments in 2004, finishing fourth in Germany and eighth in Serbia. She also competed on the senior level, winning the silver medal at the 2004

Bofrost Cup on Ice The Bofrost Cup on Ice was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union (). The first iteration was held in 1986 in Frankfurt. When the ISU launch ...

. In the 2005–06 season, Paulinus was invited to a senior

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

event, the

2005 Skate America The 2005 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2005–06 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 20–23. Me ...

, where she finished seventh. She switched coaches in May 2007, joining Karin Hendschke-Raddatz in Berlin. In 2008–09, she won three international medals — gold at the Cup of Nice, bronze at the

NRW Trophy The NRW Trophy (also known as the NRW Summer Trophy or the NRW Autumn Trophy) is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2007, it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eisla ...

, and bronze at the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

— and silver at the German Championships. Paulinus did not compete in the 2009–10 season due to foot surgery in November and hip surgery in December 2009. She retired from competition after placing fifth at the 2011 German Championships.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulinus, Constanze 1985 births German female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Berlin Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade 21st-century German sportswomen