Cindy Klassen

Cindy Klassen
Personal information
Born (1979-08-12) August 12, 1979 (age 45)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb; 11.2 st)
WebsiteCindyKlassen.com
Sport
Country Canada
SportSpeed skating
Medal record
Women's speed skating
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Turin 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin Team pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Salt Lake City 3000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Turin 5000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Turin 3000 m
World Allround Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Gothenburg Allround
Gold medal – first place 2006 Calgary Allround
Silver medal – second place 2002 Heerenveen Allround
Silver medal – second place 2005 Moscow Allround
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Heerenveen Allround
World Sprint Championships
Silver medal – second place 2003 Calgary Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Hamar Sprint
World Single Distance Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Inzell 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2005 Inzell 3000 m
Gold medal – first place 2011 Inzell Team pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2004 Seoul 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2005 Inzell Team pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2007 Salt Lake City 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2012 Heerenveen Team pursuit
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Salt Lake City 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Berlin 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Seoul 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Salt Lake City 3000 m

Cindy Klassen, OM (born August 12, 1979) is a Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics.

She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five medals in a single Olympic Games and the first female speed skater to win five medals in a single Games at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.[1] She was a world record holder in the 3000 m until March 2019, when her time was beaten by Martina Sáblíková.[2] She also holds the Canadian records over 1500 m and 5000 m.[3][4] Klassen is the leader of the Adelskalender, which is the all-time world ranking for speed skating. In 2003, Klassen became the first Canadian in 27 years to win the overall title at the World Speed Skating Championships.[3]

Klassen has several major awards and accolades to her name, including the Lou Marsh Trophy in 2006, which is awarded for Canada's best athlete of the year. Due to her accomplishments at the 2006 Winter Olympics and her many accomplishments throughout her career, Klassen was named to the Order of Manitoba.[5] Klassen was awarded the Oscar Mathisen Award in 2006 for outstanding speed skating performance of the year. In 2007, she was named the Female Athlete of the Year at the Canadian Sports Awards.[3] Klassen won the 2005 and 2006 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as female athlete of the year as presented by the Canadian Press.[3] She was also tipped as Speed Skating Canada's 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Female Skater of the Year for long track speed skating.[3] The Canadian Mint featured Klassen on a Canadian quarter in 2010 as part of their Olympic memories editions and as a recognition of her six Olympic medals.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lou Marsh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "World Records". www.speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Speed Skating Canada Bio". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  4. ^ "National Records". www.speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "Prestigious Sport Award to be Presented to Cindy Klassen". Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  6. ^ "Mint Releases 25-Cent Coin Celebrating Cindy Klassen's Five Medals in Long-Track Speed Skating in 2006". Mint.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2010-01-05.