Rudi Cerne

Who is Rudi Cerne?

Rudolf "Rudi" Cerne was a German figure skater and now works as a TV presenter.

His father, a figure skater himself, brought him onto the ice when he was six years old. He skated for the club Herner EV and represented West Germany. His coach was Günter Zöller. In the early 80s he was part of West Germany's men's figure skating team, which also consisted of Norbert Schramm and Heiko Fischer. Cerne was most known for his elegant style, which emulated that of John Curry, and his strong edging.

His career started out strong, when he won the German Figure Skating Championships in 1978 and 1980. Then, in 1981, a younger teammate, Norbert Schramm, emerged and went on to dominate not only the German Nationals but also various international competitions. Schramm won two consecutive world silver medals in 1982 and 1983 while Cerne could barely place in the top dozen, which prompted many to conclude that Cerne's career as the top West German male skater was over.

In 1984, however, 26-year-old Cerne entered the scene with a new attitude and consistent triple jumps due to intensive training. Most notably, Cerne had mastered the triple Lutz jump, which he needed in order to be technically competitive with Schramm as well as other top skaters.