Competitive Career
Steuer was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), Saxony, and began to skate as a little child. His pair skating coach was Monika Scheibe. He skated for the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was renamed to SC Chemnitz after German reunification. Having been born in East Germany, he first represented East Germany and after 1990 the combined Germany.
In pair skating, Steuer first teamed up with Manuela Landgraf. They were the first Germans to win the World Junior Championships, doing so in 1984. After his split with Landgraf, he skated with Ines Müller for several years. Their best results were 7th places at the Europeans. Müller quit after the 1990–1991 season.
Steuer was left without a partner during 1991–1992 season. He trained at the same rink and under the same coach, Monika Scheibe, as Mandy Wötzel / Axel Rauschenbach. When that pair split in 1992, Scheibe hesitated to put Wötzel and Steuer together due to doubts about whether their personalities would work well together but she was persuaded after seeing their tryout. After less than a year together, Wötzel and Steuer won the silver medal at the 1993 European Championships and the 1993 World Championships. Both were accepted into the sports division of the German army, supporting athletes.
Wötzel and Steuer had a few accidents during their career. She knocked him out with her elbow while practicing the twist lift and he broke her nose while practicing another lift. During the long program at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Wötzel tripped on a rut and fell to the ice, cutting her chin. Steuer carried her off the ice. The pair was forced to withdraw from the competition and Wötzel had to have stitches. They skated at the 1994 World Championships one month later, and finished fourth. In a humorous touch, after the program, Steuer carried Wötzel off the ice just as he had at the Olympics.
Wötzel and Steuer won the 1995 European Championships and the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Steuer underwent his fifth or sixth knee surgery in mid-1997. On 8 December 1997, a passing car's side window hit Steuer's arm, partly tearing ligaments in his right shoulder. Pain radiated to his neck and face and caused headaches but he continued to skate. Wötzel and Steuer won the silver medal at the Champions Series Final, held 19–20 December 1997 in Munich, Germany. When he caught her during a triple twist in the long program, Steuer felt a sharp pain that extended to his head. They stayed off the ice for the following three weeks. Wötzel and Steuer missed the 1998 European Championships as a result but returned in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where they won the bronze medal. They then retired from competition and skated in shows and professional events.
Read more about this topic: Ingo Steuer
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