Rudi Cerne: He was a professional figure skater over 40 years ago

Rudy Cerne
He was a professional figure skater over 40 years ago

Rudi Cerne is known for his television presentations. What many people don’t know: The TV man used to be one of the best figure skaters and even competed in the Olympic Games. Today he celebrates his 65th birthday.

The audience knows him as the presenter of the program “Aktenzeichen XY … unsolved” or the sports section on “ZDF today journal”. But his career began Rudi Cerne many years ago as a figure skater. We introduce the TV man and former professional athlete, who will celebrate his 65th birthday on September 26, 2023.

Rudi Cerne was one of the best figure skaters

Cerne began figure skating at the age of six. The path seems predetermined: “My father awakened my enthusiasm for this sport at an early age,” he once said in an interview with “Schule” magazine. “As a young man, he himself was a good ice skater. But during the war in Russia, a leg was shot and had to be amputated.” The father puts the boy in the hands of trainers because he cannot teach him himself due to his injury.

Cerne will soon be one of the best figure skaters in the country. In 1978 and 1980 he won the German championships. 1In 984 he won silver at the European Championships in Budapest, and in the same year he came fifth at the World Championships in Ottawa. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo he came fourth, narrowly missing out on a medal.

From competitive athlete to presenter

He ends his career as a competitive athlete and is hired for “Holiday on Ice”. He skated for the show from 1984 to 1988. Cerne proves his talent on the microphone and skillfully leads through the revue on ice skates. With his friendly nature, he is discovered as a reporter. From then on he moderated sports programs, first for ARD, then for ZDF. From 1999 to 2006 he presented the “Current Sportstudio” 75 times. He is also a reporter Used in all major sporting events such as the Tour de France, the Olympic Games or the European and World Football Championships.

Since 2002, Cerne has hosted the successful manhunt program “Aktenzeichen XY … unsolved”, which aims to help solve crimes. This is where the criminal cases end up in which the police can only rely on the help of the spectators. According to the broadcaster, the success rate is an impressive 39.2 percent.

Married for over 35 years

And private? He loves consistency: He has been married to his wife Christine Gebauer since 1987, and their daughter Elisabeth was born in 1990. Rudi Cerne prefers to keep his family life out of the public eye.

Sources used: rudicerne.de, magazin-schule.de, olympedia.org, zdf.de, own research

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