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STEFAN LINDEMANN: FROM OBSCURITY TO TRIUMPH

Just two years ago Stefan Lindemann of Germany, might well have found himself the subject of a "where are they now?" piece. The 2000 men's World junior champion had finished 18th at the 2001 World Championships, concluding a season marred by a serious injury. He then failed to qualify for a spot on his country's team in 2002 and 2003.

Last season he was able to resurrect his career by winning the Bofrost Cup in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, regaining his national title and finishing fifth at the European championships. But the crowning achievement was the bronze medal at the 2004 World Championships held in Dortmund, Germany.

Based on these successes the president of the German Federation (Deutsche EislaufUnion), Reinhard Mirmseker, orchestrated the plans for Lindemann to work with renowned choreographer Lea Ann Miller and DEU sponsored the related expenses. Katarina Witt, a close friend and colleague from the Stars on Ice tour, facilitated the arrangement with Miller.

Lindemann traveled this summer, accompanied by his longtime choreographer Ivo Svec, to the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts to develop a new free skate with Miller. They also did on-ice work in Springfield, Mass.

"Miller is familiar with my skating, how I carry myself on the ice," he said. "She worked to get me to feel the music and be more effective with my presentation."

The German federation held a seminar for the skaters at its national training facility in Oberstdorf conducted by a judge fully versed in the intricacies of the newly adopted judging system.

Lindemann, who feels the system has both good and bad points and is a step in the right direction, nevertheless believes it must be further refined. "It is good that a skater like [Emanuel] Sandhu can go from seventh place [after the short program] to first, but the second set of scores [program component scores] should reflect mistakes as well."

The new judging system "requires more work from the skater," Lindemann said. "You have to increase the difficulty and add transitions between the elements, the places where you [previously] could catch your breath."

He is working on more complex spins and footwork to garner additional credit under the new system.

Lindemann divides his training between his native Erfurt located in the state of Thuringia and in the summer Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, site of the 1936 Olympic Winter Games.

As is the case with many Germany athletes, Lindemann enlisted in the Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and uses his salary to pay for training expenses. He derived no financial windfall from the bronze medal he won at Worlds aside from the loan of a car by a local dealership. He has no private sponsorship or endorsements.

Aside from a four- to five-week yearly commitment at a base in Austria, he is freed up from his military obligations to concentrate on his training.

"Soccer [fussball], ice hockey and basketball are the sports popular in Germany," he said. "Figure skating in Germany remains in a valley. We do not have such a depth of skaters, all at the same high level, as in the U.S. and Canada."

In November of 2000, Lindemann competed at the Sparkassen Cup on Ice and fell on a triple Axel jump, landing on his right knee and sustaining ligament damage. He had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher and was unable to compete at his national championships or at Europeans.

Although he regained his national title in 2002, he placed 12th at the European Championships and found himself in a qualifying runoff for Germany's one spot at the World Championships, which went to Andrejs Vlascenko. The German Olympic Committee elected not to send an entry in the men's discipline for the 2002 games in Salt Lake City because none of the skaters met its qualifying criteria.

In 2003 Germany was eligible to send two entries to the World Championships but again a runoff was held and Silvio Smalun and Vlascenko were chosen. Lindemann recalled, "Based on my presentation I was judged the weakest of the three by my federation." He said he felt that this criteria should have been made clear to him prior to the qualifying event.

"It was difficult to be left off the World team in 2002 and 2003 because I had trained for the whole season but then T was also required to do an additional qualification to be selected for the World Championships," he said.

He was not satisfied with his performance at either of the first two Grand Prix assignments (Skate America and Skate Canada) this season. "I am annoyed; I expected better of myself but [in the free skate] when I did a double loop instead of the [planned] triple all of the tension went out of me, I felt tired and my legs heavy. My goal this season was to qualify for the Grand Prix Final."

A number of the top-ranked men have withdrawn from this season's Grand Prix competitions due to injuries, including World champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia and Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, but Lindemann attributes this to more than just the physical demands of training difficult jumps.

Lindemann proposes the ISU alter the present calendar of Grand Prix events to take into consideration the training schedule necessary for the skaters to adequately prepare. "Between travel, time zone changes and the reduced practice ice available to skaters during competitions it is not enough," he said. "There should be a week off after the two North American competitions and again after the events in Asia."

To make the point he described his own schedule: "I was in Pittsburgh for Skate America, then I flew to Halifax for Skate Canada; on Monday [Nov. 1] I fly back to Germany and arrive there Tuesday [Nov. 2] morning and on Sunday [Nov. 7] I leave for Cup of China." Lindemann was also scheduled to appear on Nov. 2 in Gelsenkirchen for a press conference to promote the Bofrost Cup on Ice 2004 (slated for Nov. 2628).

His goals for the season are to medal at the European Championships and place among the top six at the World Championships.

"It's not necessary for me to medal again this year at the World Championships but to show that I belong in the top group," he said. "I don't want to look too far ahead because in sport injuries can happen so quickly."

His long-range goal is to be selected for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. "I will make a decision after that how long to stay [eligible]," he said.

The possibility of taking part in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver also appeals to him. "The public here in Canada are true fans; they cheer not just for their own but all skaters."

He would like to appear in professional shows but joked, "In Germany our skating tour consists of stops in just three cities and that says it all."

Lindemann has passed the demanding university entrance examination (Abitur) in Germany. He hopes to pursue correspondence courses via a distance-learning program offered by the University of D??sseldorf.