Representing her native country of East Germany (now part of the reunited German nation), figure skater Katarina Witt won two straight Olympic figure skating gold medals, in 1984 and 1988--the first woman since 1936 to do so. She also won five world championships, four of them in a row, breaking the record of three in a row (held by American legend Peggy Fleming), and six European championships. The beautiful and graceful Witt charmed skating fans throughout the world. Following a successful professional career, Witt returned to the Olympics in 1994 after being out of competition for six years. In Lillehammer, Norway, she proved that winners don't always finish in first place.

Katarina Witt was born in December 1965 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany. Her father, Manfred, was a plant director, and her mother, Kathe, was a physical therapist. Witt's training as a world-class ice skater began when she was five years old at...