Jan Hoffmann (born 26 October 1955) is a German

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 ...

who represented

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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 Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. He is married and has one daughter.

Career

Competitive

Hoffmann's first coach was Annemarie Halbach in

. He later switched to Jutta Müller in

Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

(today

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

). He represented the former

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 The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and placed 26th. He finished sixth at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, 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 Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, where he defeated Sergey Volkov of the Soviet Union and John Curry of the United Kingdom. At the 1974 World Championships in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he placed first in figures, second in the short program, and fifth in the free skate. Technically gifted, he landed a triple Lutz in the free skate, the most difficult triple jump done at the time. 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 A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

. He had surgery on his meniscus and subsequently missed the entire 1974–75 season. Hoffmann finished fourth at the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

after placing fourth in figures, ninth in the short program, and fifth in the free skate. At the 1979 European Championships in

, Hoffmann finished ahead of the Soviet Union's Vladimir Kovalyov and the United Kingdom's

Robin Cousins Robin John Cousins MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978– ...

to win his fourth continental title. He took bronze behind the same skaters at the 1979 World Championships in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. In January 1980, Hoffmann placed second to Cousins at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. The

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

took place in February in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

. 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 Charles Frederick Tickner (born November 13, 1953, in Lafayette, California) is an American figure skater. Tickner won the gold medal at the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships, skating to music from Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and Jules Mass ...

of the United States. He ended his amateur career in March at the 1980 World Championships in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

. 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 Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

specialist. He served on the managing board of the

Deutsche Eislauf-Union The German Ice Skating Union (, DEU) is the national amateur association for figure skating and ice dancing in Germany. The various German ice sports associations constitute the membership of the DEU; individuals cannot become members. The Deutsch ...

and has appeared as a figure skating judge. He judged the ladies' event at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

and was one of five judges who placed Oksana Baiul ahead of

Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skating, figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 19 ...

. Hoffman also judged the ladies competition at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

and gave his first-place ordinal to

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

Results

References

* Scott Hamilton, ''Landing It''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Jan 1955 births Living people Figure skaters from Dresden German male single skaters Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1968 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for East Germany East German male figure skaters Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Figure skating judges Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Figure skaters from Bezirk Dresden