19 Facts About Katherine Reutter

Katherine Reutter-Adamek is an American short track speed skater.

Katherine Reutter has won one gold, two silvers, and four bronze medals at the World Championships, including overall silver medal at the 2011 World Championships.

Katherine Reutter has won two bronze medals at the World Team Championships.

Katherine Reutter was inspired to become a speed skater after meeting five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair at her high school.

Katherine Reutter learned to skate with her mother during a figure skating class when she was four years old, but immediately found she was more interested in speed skating.

Katherine Reutter first started speed skating professionally in 2005 at the age of 17.

Katherine Reutter began training at the Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Michigan that year.

Katherine Reutter trained in Salt Lake City, Utah starting 2007, where she paid for room, board, and training at her own expense, until her retirement in 2013 when she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

At the 2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships, in March 2009, Katherine Reutter won a bronze medal along with Kimberly Derrick, Alyson Dudek, Lana Gehring, and Jessica Smith.

Katherine Reutter won four silver medals at the 2009 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup.

Katherine Reutter then set an Olympic record in the first quarterfinal with a time of 43.834 but the record was beaten by Wang Meng of China in the next heat, with a time of 43.284.

Katherine Reutter started slow in the semifinals, resulting in a fourth-place finish, eliminating her from medal contention.

Katherine Reutter got tangled up with Wang Meng in the semifinal, causing both skaters and Cho Ha-Ri of South Korea to fall, resulting in Meng being disqualified from the final.

At the 2011 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Katherine Reutter won one gold, two silvers, and one bronze.

In winning the gold, Katherine Reutter became the first American woman to win a gold medal at a World Short Track Speed Skating Championships since Bonnie Blair did in 1986.

In early 2013 due to constant injuries, Katherine Reutter announced her retirement at the age of 24.

In mid-2016, Katherine Reutter announced her return to competition with the goal of competing in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Katherine Reutter was training at the Pettit Center in Milwaukee.

Katherine Reutter appeared as a guest on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report on December 14,2009.