Sylke Otto (born 7 July 1969) is a German former

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r who competed from 1991 to 2007. She was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt. Competing in three

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 ...

, she won the gold medal in the women's singles event in 2002 and 2006. Otto won twelve medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with six golds (Women's singles:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

; Mixed team: 2003, 2005), three silvers (Mixed team:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 2000, 2001), and three bronzes (Women's singles:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

; Mixed team: 1999). She also won eight medals at the

FIL European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federa ...

with five golds (Women's singles:

, 2002; Mixed team: 1990,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, 2000), two silvers (Women's singles: 1992, Mixed team: 2002), and one bronze (Women's singles:

). Otto finished in the top three of the

Luge World Cup The Luge World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Luge Federation since 1977–78. The World Cup is the highest level season-long competition in the sport. Men's singles ;Medals: ;World Cup Stages medals ( ...

standings every year from 1999 to 2006, winning the overall title four times (1994-5, 1999–2000, 2002–3, 2003–4). She won a record 37 World Cup races in total during her career.

Retirement

She retired from the sport on 12 January 2007, partly in order to have children and partly because of a crash at

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the previous week and witnessing another crash, by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's Albert Demtschenko at Oberhof, that same week. Otto had initially planned on retiring at the World Luge Championships in

Igls 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 Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(Located southeast of

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 ...

) in February, but the accidents changed her plans. She has one daughter, Sina, born on 29 May 2007. A retirement ceremony for Otto took place prior to the start of the women's singles event at the 2008 FIL World Luge Championships in

Oberhof, Germany Oberhof is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen Districts of Germany, district of Thuringia, Germany. Located in the Thuringian Forest mountain range, it is a winter sports center and destination spa, health resort. With 1,625 inhabitants (December ...

on 25 January.

Other information

Otto was one of the torch bearers for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, as it traveled through

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.

References

FIL-Luge profile
- Accessed January 24, 2008. *[http://www.fil-luge.org/news/news-detail/article/olympic-flame-in-germany.html?tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1088632800&tx_ttnews%5BpL%5D=2678399&tx_ttnews%5Barc%5D=1&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=157&cHash=e3bde8d5c2 FIL-Luge.org 2 July 2004 article on Otto's torch carrying in Berlin prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics.] - accessed March 7, 2008. *
Hickoksports.com results on Olympic champions in luge and skelton.Hickok sports information on World champions in luge and skeleton.

* ttp://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5058278/detail.html?ib_oll=Headline NBC biographybr>Official website

SportQuick.com information on World champions in luge.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Sylke 1969 births Living people German female lugers Olympic lugers for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in luge Lugers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Chemnitz East German female lugers Sportspeople from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt 21st-century German sportswomen