Dagmar Kersten

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Dagmar Kersten
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1988-0722-020, Dagmar Kersten.jpg
Kersten in 1988
Personal information
Born (1970-10-28) 28 October 1970 (age 53)
Altdöbern, Bezirk Cottbus, East Germany
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight45 kg (99 lb)
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
Club SC Dynamo Berlin
Medal record
Representing Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1988 Seoul Uneven bars
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1988 Seoul Team
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1985 Montreal Uneven bars
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1985 Montreal All-around
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1985 Montreal Vault
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1985 Montreal Team
European Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1985 Helsinki Vault

Dagmar Kersten (born 28 October 1970) is a German former gymnast. She represented East Germany at the 1988 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal on the uneven bars, and a bronze medal in the team event. [1] In 1985, she won four medals at the World Championships, including silver on the bars and bronze in the all-around. [2] She was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit. [3]

Contents

Career

Kersten won a bronze medal on the vault at the 1985 European Championships, where she also finished fifth in the all-around and sixth on the balance beam. At the 1985 World Championships in Montreal, she won a bronze medal in the team event, and a bronze medal in the all-around behind joint winners Oksana Omelianchik and Elena Shushunova of the Soviet Union. She also made all four apparatus finals, winning silver on bars behind GDR teammate Gabriele Fahnrich, and a bronze on the vault. She was sixth on floor and eighth on beam.

Without her knowledge, Kersten was part of the East German doping program. In 1985 she suffered a serious spine injury and had to stop training. As part of her recovery treatment she was prescribed Oral Turinabol, an anabolic steroid. Her physician, Dr. Bernd Pansold, was later convicted in 1998 for the procurement of drugs to minors. Before the 1988 Olympics she was administered other performance-enhancing drugs under disguise of nutrition supplements. [3]

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Kersten won two medals; bronze in the team event, followed by a silver medal on bars behind Romanian Daniela Silivas. She also finished sixth in the vault final and eighth in the all-around.

After German reunification, Kersten moved to Stuttgart and worked at the Swabian Gymnastics Federation. [4] Until 2002 she coached the German junior team. Later she worked as a speaker of the Lower Saxony Gymnastics Federation and a coach for an acrobatic show, which included her daughter Alina. She also holds second dan in taekwondo and teaches martial arts at a dojo she founded in Oldenburg. Her son Erik is a taekwondo practitioner. [3] [5]

Kersten has appeared as a motivational speaker. [5] In 2022, Kersten launched a podcast about her experience as a gymnast called Ausgeturnt – Noch Lange Nicht! (English: Far From Being Done With Gymnastics). [6]

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAA VT UB BB FX
Junior
1983Children's and Youth SpartakiadeGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
1984Junior Friendship TournamentSilver medal icon.svg248
Senior
1985Cottbus International4Gold medal icon.svg
DTB CupGold medal icon.svg466Silver medal icon.svg
Dynamo SpartakiadeSilver medal icon.svg
European Championships 5Bronze medal icon.svg6
GDR-HUN Dual MeetGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
GDR-NOR-SWE Tri-MeetGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
World Championships Bronze medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg86
1987DTB CupBronze medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg
GDR ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svg
1988China CupBronze medal icon.svg
Cottbus International8Bronze medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svg6
GDR ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg
GDR Olympic TrialsGold medal icon.svg
Moscow News59Bronze medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svg8
Olympic Games Bronze medal icon.svg6Silver medal icon.svg

[7]

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References

  1. Dagmar Kersten Archived 2 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine . sports-reference.com
  2. Turnen – Weltmeisterschaften Damen, Turnen – Europameisterschaften Damen. sport-komplett.de
  3. 1 2 3 Schmidt, Sandra (13 March 2011) Ich bin nicht daran zerbrochen. dradio.de
  4. Volker Kluge: Das große Lexikon der DDR-Sportler. Berlin 2000 ISBN   3-89602-348-9
  5. 1 2 Moody, Oliver (6 July 2024). "History's most ruthless doping programme". The Times & The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. "In Translation: "Far From Being Done With Gymnastics!" Episode 1". The Gymternet. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  7. "Dagmar Kersten (GDR)". Gymn Forum. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2022.