Susanne "Susi" Handschmann (born 2 March 1959) is an Austrian former

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

. With her brother, Peter Handschmann, she is a six-time Austrian national champion (1975–1980) and competed at two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

(1976, 1980).

Personal life

Susi Handschmann was born on 2 March 1959 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. ...

, Austria. She is the younger sister of Peter Handschmann.

Career

The Handschmann siblings won their first national title in 1975. They finished 16th at the 1975 European Championships in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. The following season, the Handschmanns placed 11th at the 1976 European Championships in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland. In February, they competed at their first

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, held in

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 ...

, Austria; they withdrew following the compulsory dances, in which they ranked 12th. Returning to competition, they finished 12th at the 1976 World Championships in

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 ...

, Sweden. The Handschmanns created the Austrian Waltz

pattern dance A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstraction, abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometry, geometric shapes and ...

. They first performed it in 1979 in Vienna. Their best ISU Championship results, 7th, came at the 1979 Europeans 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 ...

, Yugoslavia, and 1979 Worlds in Vienna. In their final competitive season, the siblings won their sixth consecutive national title and placed 11th at 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 ...

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 ...

Results

(with Peter Handschmann)

References

Navigation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handschmann, Susi Austrian female ice dancers Olympic figure skaters for Austria Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics 1959 births Living people