Klassen, Cindy (1979-…), a Canadian speed skater, has won more medals in the Olympic Games than any other Canadian athlete. Klassen won one medal in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and five in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Her five medals were more than any other competitor won in the 2006 games. For her success in the Olympics, Klassen was voted the 2006 Canadian female athlete of the year. She had previously been voted Canadian female athlete of the year in 2005.
In the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, Klassen won the bronze medal in the 3,000-meter race. In 2006, she won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter race, silver medals in the 1,000-meter race and the team pursuit, and bronze medals in the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races.
Klassen won the 2003 and 2006 World Speed Skating Championships. She finished first in World Cup rankings at the 1,500-meter distance after the 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 seasons. She also led the World Cup rankings in the 3000-meter distance after the 2005-2006 season. World Cup titles are awarded each year to the men and women who have won the most points in a series of races.
Cynthia Nicole Klassen was born on Aug. 12, 1979, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a member of the Canadian women’s national junior hockey team in 1996. In 1997, Klassen tried out for the Canadian women’s hockey team for the 1998 Olympics, but she was not selected. Later that year, while attending the University of Manitoba, she took up speed skating.
