Anja Richter

Anja Richter
Personal information
Full nameAnja Richter-Libiseller
NationalityAustrian
Born (1977-10-05) 5 October 1977 (age 47)
Vienna, Austria
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
SportDiving
Event(s)10 m, 10 m synchro
ClubSchwimm-Union Wien
PartnerMarion Reiff
Coached byMichael Worisch
Medal record
Women's diving
Representing  Austria
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2006 Budapest 10 m platform
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Seville 10 m synchro

Anja Richter-Libiseller (born 5 October 1977) is an Austrian platform diver.[1] She is a four-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008), and a multiple-time Austrian diving champion in her respective discipline. Richter is also the sister of Jürgen Richter, a springboard diver who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and the granddaughter of Liesl Perkaus, a multiple-time Austrian track and field champion, and a discus thrower who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.[2][3]

Diving career

At age nineteen, Richter made her official debut for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where she placed eleventh in the women's platform, with a score of 408.45.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Richter achieved her best diving career result, with a seventh-place finish, in the women's platform, posting a total score of 313.38. She also teamed up with her partner Marion Reiff in the women's synchronized platform, but narrowly missed out of an Olympic medal by seven points behind the Australian team (Rebecca Gilmore and Loudy Tourky), recording their final score at 294.00.[4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Richter, however, fell short in her bid for a twelve-woman final, when she finished fifteenth in the women's platform by six points behind Germany's Annett Gamm, with a total score of 472.44.

In 2006, Richter reached her breakthrough season in diving, when she won a silver medal for the same discipline at the European Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, accumulating a score of 332.35 points.[5][6] She also achieved a fifth-place finish at the FINA Diving World Cup series in Changshu, China, by one point ahead of Canada's Marie-Ève Marleau, with a total score of 331.65.[7]

Twelve years after competing in her first Olympics, Richter qualified for her fourth Austrian team, as a 30-year-old, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She placed twenty-second out of twenty-nine divers in the preliminary round of the women's platform event, by two points behind France's Audrey Labeau, with a total score of 287.70.[8] Shortly after the Olympics, Richter announced her retirement from the diving career to work as a lecturer and officer for the Ministry of National Defense and Sport.[9]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Anja Richter". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jürgen Richter". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Liesl Perkaus". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  4. ^ Parr, Derek (28 September 2000). "Chinese win women's synchronised platform gold". USA Diving. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  5. ^ "European diving gold for Ukraine and Germany". IOL Sport. 4 August 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Historische Medaille für Österreich: Anja Richter gewinnt Silber vom 10-Meter-Turm!" [Historic medal for Austria: Anja Richter wins silver from the 10-meter platform!] (in German). News AT. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Chinese Keep Stranglehold on Gold at FINA Diving World Cup". Swimming World Magazine. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Women's 10m Platform Preliminary". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Wasserspringerin Anja Richter beendet Karriere" [Diver Anja Richter ends career] (in German). Die Presse. Retrieved 23 January 2013.