Claudia Pechstein made history after becoming the first woman to compete in eight Winter Olympics

Legendary speed skater Claudia Pechstein made history after becoming the first woman to compete in eight Winter Olympics.

The German, who will turn 50 on February 22, finished last with 4:17.16 minutes in today’s start of the 3000 m in Beijing.

Pehstein is the first woman but the second athlete in history to have eight Olympics after Japanese ski jumping legend Noriaki Kasai.

Claudia Pechstein is the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic champion in the 3,000 m and has won a total of five gold, two silver, and two bronze medals from the Winter Olympics. She became the oldest participant in Beijing at the age of 49.

“The important thing today was to compete and be here. I’m super proud”, said Claudia Pechstein. She equaled the participation in the Winter Olympics with the Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai, who last competed in PyeongChang 2018. “I wasn’t very fast, but I was smiling because I fulfilled my goal of competing in the Olympics for the eighth time. That was important to me”, added Claudia Peckstein, who missed the Vancouver Games in 2010 due to a two-year doping penalty.