Famous Winnipeggers and Things

Cindy Klassen (speed skater)

born - August 12, 1979 in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Cindy Klassen is a Canadian long track speed skater who became the first Canadian to win six medals, one gold, two silver, three bronze in a single Olympic Games at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Cindy is Canada's all-time most decorated Olympian and the first female speed skater to win 5 medals in a single games.

Cindy holds the current world record for three distances, the 1,000 m, the 1,500 m, and the 3,000 m.

She is the current leader of the all-time world ranking for speed skating called the Adelskalender.

At the World Speed Skating Championships in 2003, Cindy became the first Canadian in 27 years to win that overall title.

Klassen has several major awards and accolades:

The Lou Marsh Trophy for Canada's athlete of the year
The Order of Manitoba
The Oscar Mathisen Award for outstanding speed skating performance of the year
The Female Athlete of the Year (2007) at the Canadian Sports Awards
The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award Klassen (2005 and 2006) for female athlete of the year
Canada' Female Speed Skater of the Year (2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007) for long track speed skating

Cindy was also featured on a Canadian quarter in 2010 as part of the Olympic memories editions and for recognition of her six Olympic medals.