Women
GER
Bente Kraus
GER- Date of birth21 Feb 1989
- Height173 CM
- ProfessionAthlete, Serves in the Army
- HometownBerlin
- Place of birthBerlin
- Start skatingShe took up figure skating at age six and switched to speed skating at age 10.
- Club Eisbaren Juniors Berlin: Germany
- HobbiesN/A
- LanguagesEnglish, German
- CoachN/A
- Former CoachN/A
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
Finishing 11th in both the 3000m and the 5000m at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. (Athlete, 28 Jan 2017, 03 Dec 2015)
"Train hard, believe in yourself and you can achieve your goals." (Athlete, 28 Jan 2017)
German speed skater Claudia Pechstein. (tlz.de, 29 Oct 2016)
Her father. (Athlete, 28 Jan 2017)
A knee injury meant she missed the 2017 German Championships in Inzell. (bz-berlin.de, 18 Oct 2017)
RETIREMENT
She retired from competitive speed skating in January 2019. "I am finishing my career after 23 years of competitive sports. For many, this decision may come as a surprise because I have came a very long way back after my two knee injuries. I've fought like a lioness for the last one and a half years, but sometimes hurdles get put in your way that you don't want to skip anymore. (Facebook page, 09 Jan 2019)
FAMILY TRAGEDY
Her father, who was her personal coach and an instructor at the Eisbaren Berlin club in Germany, passed away suddenly from cancer in 2013. (berliner-kurier.de, 04 Jul 2014; bentekraus.de, 08 Jul 2013)
She retired from competitive speed skating in January 2019. "I am finishing my career after 23 years of competitive sports. For many, this decision may come as a surprise because I have came a very long way back after my two knee injuries. I've fought like a lioness for the last one and a half years, but sometimes hurdles get put in your way that you don't want to skip anymore. (Facebook page, 09 Jan 2019)
FAMILY TRAGEDY
Her father, who was her personal coach and an instructor at the Eisbaren Berlin club in Germany, passed away suddenly from cancer in 2013. (berliner-kurier.de, 04 Jul 2014; bentekraus.de, 08 Jul 2013)
Her father was a skating coach and her mother was a speed skater in her youth, so she followed her parents' influence. "I had a crazy sports family."
