Heidemarie STEINER

Heidi Steiner started her career as a singles skater and was East German Champion in 1960. As her international prospects became unrealistic after team-mate Gabriel Seyfert burst into the scene, Steiner moved to pair skating with Heinz-Ulrich Walther. In 1968 she represented East Germany at the Grenoble Olympics and finished fourth with Walther, whom she married in 1969. They won the East German title in 1966-67, 1969-70, also won three bronze medals at the 1967-68 and 1970 Europeans, as well as another one at the 1970 World Championships. This was the first international pairs skating medal for the former GDR.

Steiner studied sports at the DfHK Leipzih after her active career, and became a well-known figure skating coach at SC Dynamo Berlin. After re-unification she moved to Switzerland, coaching Swiss and German skaters.