Katarina Witt is a German figure skater, known for being the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988 in singles figure skating. This had not been accomplished since 1936, when it was done by Sonja Henie. Katarina Witt is one of the most successful figure skaters of all time. Katarina Witt was known for her graceful performances and costumes that were seen as too theatrical. She began skating at the age of 5. Katarina first retired in 1988, was allowed to return to competitive figure skating, and then later officially retired in 1994. Since retiring she has worked in film and television.