The highlight of the Anke Karstens Biography so far has to be her Silver medal in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. And that’s quite some highlight – it also demonstrated her ability to show up for the big occasion.
| QUICK FACTS |
| Age: 29 |
| Stance: Goofy |
| Nationality: GER |
| Disciplines: Parallel Giant Slalom & Parallel Slalom |
| Home Turf: WSV Bischofswiesen |
FIS World Cup Events
Anke’s world cup results don’t look great stacked up against her fellow German Competitor, Amelie Kober, who we profiled last week. However, that’s a tough comparison and Anke has managed some success in world cups.
But with just two wins in the Parallel Giant Slalom (Parallel GS) and yet to register a win in the Parallel Slalom in world cups, the very event she won silver in at the Olympics, makes that achievement all the more remarkable.
| Events Entered | Wins | Top 3’s | Top 10’s | |
| Parallel GS | 43 | 2 (5%) | 4 (9%) | 14 (33%) |
| Parallel Slalom | 28 | 0 (0%) | 2 (7%) | 7 (25%) |
| TOTAL | 71 | 2 (3%) | 6 (8%) | 21 (30%) |
FIS World Snowboarding Championships
Her results in the world championships did nothing to suggest her amazing feat in Sochi either.
With not so much as a top 10 in the 3 championships she has entered to date, I am sure she was hoping to add to her Sochi success at the 2015 worlds, which were just completed at time of writing. Unfortunately she couldn’t achieve better than 16th and 18th in a very competetive field.
| Year | Location | Parallel GS | Parallel Slalom |
| 2009 | Gangwon, South Korea | 31st | 29th |
| 2011 | La Molina, Spain | DSQ | 12th |
| 2013 | Stoneham, Canada | 32nd | DSQ |
| 2015 | Kreischberg, Austria | 16th | 18th |
Winter Olympics Record
Karstens seems to save herself for the big occasion! Her results at the 2 Olympics she has competed in have belied her decent but not spectacular results in world cups and championships.
The Sochi Silver being the most remarkable, of course, but her 5th in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics also a great achievement in itself.
What’s more surprising about Anke’s Silver at Sochi is that it was in her weaker event, the Parallel Slalom. With only 2 top 3’s and no wins in that event in World Cup events and her form leading up to the Olympics showing no suggestion she was in line for the podium.
In fact her last podium finish in the Parallel Slalom in World Cup events came in December 2011 and her last top 10 in that discipline in January 2013 – over a year before Sochi. In the 4 World Cup events leading in to the games she finished 29th, 17th, 19th and 20th.
There must be something about the big occasion that brings out the best in Karstens.
| Year | Location | Parallel GS | Parallel Slalom |
| 2010 | Cypress, Canada | 5th | – |
| 2014 | Rosa Khutor, Russia | 25th | SILVER |
Recent and Upcoming Events
Kartens most recent event at time of writing was the 2015 World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria which ran from 15-25 January (PGS & PSL events were on 22nd & 23rd). She finished in 16th and 18th in the Parallel GS and Parallel Slalom respectively.
Photo Credit:
By Christian Jansky [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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