Kati Winkler
Kati Winkler (born 16 January 1974) is a German former competitive ice dancer. With partner René Lohse, she is the 2004 World bronze medalist and a six-time German national champion. They competed at two Winter Olympics, in 1998 and 2002. Personal life. Kati Winkler was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) to Bernd Winkler and Christina Schmerbach and has a sister. She is a skilled clerk. Career. Winkler started skating at the age of four after being selected for the sport in kindergarten. At first she was a single skater and was coached by Peter Meyer . While still a single skater she moved to Berlin in 1985 and was coached by Jürgen Bertko there. A back problem hampered her jumping ability so at the age of 14, she decided to take up ice dancing and asked Lohse to be her partner. They were the first East German ice dancers in years, the discipline having disappeared over the previous 18 years. Until 1996 they were coached by Knut Schubert whose expertise was more in pair skating. In 1996 they moved to Oberstdorf in Bavaria and changed their coach to Martin Skotnicky. However Winkler/Lohse always skated for  the club SC Berlin (earlier SC Dynamo Berlin). They were both sergeants in the German Army's sports division, which sponsored their skating. In 2000-01, Winkler and Lohse became the first German ice dance team to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, where they finished fifth. They missed most of the 2001-02 season after Lohse fell in practice at the 2001 Sparkassen Cup, injuring the meniscus and ligaments in his knee. They returned in time for the Olympics where they finished 8th. In the summer of 2002, Lohse collided with a truck while he was riding his bike  in Oberstdorf, "I went over the handlebars and fell on my shoulder. The bone was sticking up straight through my shoulder where I cut three ligaments." He recovered in time for them to compete in a pair of Grand Prix events and qualify for the Grand Prix Final. However, they were unable to compete in the Final because Winkler had influenza and Lohse a muscle injury in his leg. They missed the 2003 World Championships due to injury and also the 2004 European Championships after Lohse reinjured his knee ligaments a few days prior to the event. They recovered in  time for the 2004 World Championships where they won the bronze medal. This was the greatest German success in ice dancing since 1973, the time of Angelika Buck/Erich Buck. They retired from competition after the event. Winkler worked as a choreographer for Christina Beier and William Beier, the German champions in ice dancing. Winkler and Lohse skated in ice shows following the end of their competitive career.