Susan AUCH

Speed skater Susan Auch began racing at the age of 9 at a long track speed skating oval in Winnipeg that would later be named in her honor, but first found success on the ice in short track speed skating. She took home her first medal at the 1985 World Championships, bronze in the 500 m event, and won medals of all colors later that year at the Universiade. Two gold medals at the 3000 m relay followed at World Championship events in 1986 and 1988 before Auch claimed bronze in the event at the 1988 Winter Olympics, when short track was still a demonstration sport.

After 4 years on the Canadian national short track team, Auch moved on to long track, where she would spend almost a decade and a half on the national team. After a non-medaling appearance at the 1992 Winter Olympics, she claimed silver medals in the 500 m event, her specialty, at the 1994 and 1998 Games. In the same year as her first Olympic medal, she finished third overall in the event at the World Cup and took silver at the World Championships, earning her the title of Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year. Between her two Olympic medals, despite suffering a stress fracture in her femur, she finished second in her event at the World Cup in 1995, claimed silver and bronze at the World Championships and won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Trophy as Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year.

After retirement in 1999, a comeback in 2000 and a non-medaling appearance at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Auch retired for good. She now works primarily as a real estate agent in Calgary, although she also makes appearances as a motivational speaker and sits as a member on Speed Skating Canada's board. She was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Personal Bests: 500 – 38.09 (2000); 1000 – 1:16.48 (2000); 1500 – 2:02.04 (2001); 3000 – 4:39.63 (2001); 5000 – 8:21.56 (2000).