Katrien Pauwels

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Katrien Pauwels
Born (1965-11-08) 8 November 1965 (age 59)
Ghent, Belgium
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
Country Belgium
Retired1988

Katrien Pauwels (born 8 November 1965) is a Belgian former competitive figure skater. Pauwels represented Belgium at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, and she was Belgium's flag bearer in 1988. She was a nine-time Belgian champion.

Contents

Early life

Pauwels was born in Ghent and grew up in Mariakerke. [1] Her mother was a fan of figure skating, and Pauwels watched competitions on television with her, which led her to begin skating herself. [2]

Pauwels had three brothers. All three had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and were cared for in the 1970s at a hospital in Oostduinkerke, where she often visited them, before they died. Both her parents also died soon afterward. [3]

Career

Pauwels won the Belgian Figure Skating Championships nine times; she won her first national title at 11 years old. [4]

In 1982, Pauwels competed for the first time at both the European Championships, where she placed 21st, and the World Championships, where she finished 30th. [5]

Pauwels competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics, where she finished in 16th place. [5]

In 1985, Pauwels competed at Skate America, where she was in third after the short program after falling on the required double Lutz jump. She remained in third to win the bronze medal after the free skate, where she landed a triple Salchow jump. [6] That season, she had her best placement (14th) at the World Championships. [5]

Puawels competed at her second Olympics in 1988. She was the only athlete at the Olympics from Belgium and so also acted as the flag bearer. Pauwels recalled it as a "special experience" and said that she was often asked how big her country's team was by other athletes, to which she would reply, "I am the team." [7] She placed 17th. [5]

Personal life

Pauwels moved to Wondelgem. She works as a medical representative and also coaches figure skating in Eeklo. [1] She has two daughters, Aurélie and Charlotte, who also skate. [2] [4]

In 2009, Pauwels appeared on Dancing on Ice (Netherlands and Belgium) as a member of the jury. [1] [2]

Competitive highlights

International [5]
Event81–8282–8383–8484–8585–8686–8787–88
Olympics 16th17th
World Champ. 30th15th15thWD14th
European Champ. 21st15th13th16th14th
Skate America 3rd
Golden Spin 3rd3rd
Schäfer Memorial 3rd
St. Gervais 1st
National
Belgian Champ.
WD: Withdrew

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wie is Katrien Pauwels?" [Who is Katrien Pauwels?]. De Standaard (in Flemish). 24 November 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eeuwige roem - Katrien Pauwels" [Eternal fame - Katrien Pauwels]. Eén (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "Emotionele Katrien Pauwels in 'Onderweg'" [Emotional Katrien Pauwels in 'On the way']. TVvisie (in Dutch). 25 March 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 Van Damme, Sabine (14 November 2021). "Té schattig: schaatslegende Katrien Pauwels leert kleindochter Ellie schaatsen. "Gewoon voor het plezier"" [Too cute: skating legend Katrien Pauwels teaches granddaughter Ellie to skate. “Just for fun”]. hln.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Katrien Pauwels". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Caufman, Howey (December 1985). "Skate America International '85". Skating. Vol. 62, no. 10. p. 21. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "Olympiërs in de kijker: Katrien Pauwels en de Winterspelen van 1988!" [Olympians in the spotlight: Katrien Pauwels and the 1988 Winter Games!]. www.teambelgium.be (in Dutch). 11 February 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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