When you see the audiences and the smiling faces at the shows it really makes up for the work that you put in. I have a job I really love so whatever hecticness comes up – I’ll just deal with it. – Katarina Witt
I never really like to skate in an empty ice rink; I always need the attention of an audience. – Katarina Witt
I want to see sunrises in the mountains. You never get to see such things enough in a lifetime. I want to see more. – Katarina Witt
Sometimes I even now feel like a stranger in my country. But I knew there would be problems because I had seen the world as a skater. And now? A lot of people in eastern Germany have lost jobs, rents went up, food costs went up, unemployment went to 20 percent. Freedom is good, but it is not easy. – Katarina Witt
I can’t say, ‘It doesn’t matter if you win or lose.’ It’s not true. You go in to win. – Katarina Witt
When I go out on the ice, I just think about my skating. I forget it is a competition. – Katarina Witt
Too many times women try to be competitive with each other. We should help support each other, rather than try to be better than each other. – Katarina Witt
I don’t want to compete. I want to skate for the joy. I get so nervous in competition. I get always sick. I had pressures enough in my life from skating. – Katarina Witt
Skating taught me to set a goal and to block out other things and just focus on this one thing. – Katarina Witt
When you’re young, you don’t think very far ahead. You just think in terms of the next day, the next week, the next competition. You don’t think about injuries that could threaten your long-term health. – Katarina Witt
I never had a serious injury that kept me out of a big competition. Now everyone has injuries – to their feet or their knees or their backs. – Katarina Witt
Almost nothing is presented to you on a silver platter. You have to really work for it. – Katarina Witt
Sometimes, success almost haunts you. You want to be the best at everything you do and know you have to work hard. – Katarina Witt
I learned not to depend on other people. I needed support, but it’s you who has to go out and deliver. – Katarina Witt
I started the class late. The teacher said I would have to learn as much in half a year that the others learned in a year. I did it. – Katarina Witt
It’s not like I didn’t do anything for 10 years and chose a new profession. I’ve been on the ice a lot. I’m not an outsider. – Katarina Witt
I was an athlete. And I proved I didn’t win just because I was pretty. I was good, too. – Katarina Witt
