Witt stays busy with jewelry, acting and, of course, skating

Lisa Ferguson

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 8:51 a.m.

What: "Katarina Witt's Kisses on Ice."

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Tickets: $35, $50, $65.

Information: 632-7580.

Just because you've won an Olympic gold medal or two doesn't mean you no longer have to practice your sport.

That's a reality Katarina Witt knows well.

The owner of two gold medallions -- for her figure-skating victories at the 1984 Games at Sarajevo, and in '88 at Calgary -- still laces up her skates and spends a couple of hours every day on the ice.

While she no longer competes, she says she owes audiences of the ice skating shows she produces in her native Germany and in the United States -- such as "Katarina Witt's Kisses on Ice" scheduled for Saturday at Mandalay Bay -- a top-notch performance.

And the only way to give that means continually honing her skills.

When asked if she missed competing, Witt said, "Honestly, I don't," during a recent phone interview from her car while cruising the streets of Los Angeles. (Actually, she was headed from skating practice to her scheduled workout at a gym.)

Witt, 35, says there's enough pressure for her to contend with in producing and starring in shows such as "Kisses on Ice," which will be taped to air on CBS on May 6.

"You want to deliver what the audience pays for ... so you want to be in good shape, you want to give them a good show," she said. "But I'm glad not to compete anymore and to (have to) prove that you still want to be the best."

No wonder. Training as a youth in East Germany was tough, she said, though she considers it "a great experience because luckily my sport was supported" by the then-communist government.

"You were constantly under pressure, but I really learned a lot. Of course, you would go out there (on the ice) and you would feel the pressure of your country, but it was the same here (in the United States)," she said. "An American going out into the Olympics, the whole country is watching and the country is rooting for you and you want to win for your country. And that was exactly the same as it was in my country."

In her case, though, coupled with the national pressure was world politics. "It was all about the Cold War, as well. You represented not only your country, but a system."

Really, she said, it was no different than what was going on around the globe. "It was the same with Russia or with Americans. It was about who beats who, and it really didn't come down to the athlete anymore."

Witt cites boycotts by the United States of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, and by the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

"The athletes were the ones that had to suffer through that, but it was purely political reasons why they didn't participate," she said, "and those were decisions made by the government, not made by the athletes."

In any case Witt, reflecting on her career, said, "I've (skated) for many, many years, but I feel very fortunate that I'm able to do what I am doing right now, being a professional skater doing those shows and doing it for the love of the art, the love of the sport."

For several years she has also worked as a women's jewelry designer. Her collection, aptly called "Katarina Witt Feelings," is produced by the German company Dugena.

"It's funny because I never really cared too much before, a little bit" about jewelry, she said, before being approached by the company to lend her name to the line, which she describes as "really affordable" jewelry.

Then there are her acting gigs. Witt had roles in the hit film "'Jerry Maguire," and played opposite Robert De Niro in "Ronin." She also had a part on the HBO series "Arli$$."

"I did enjoy the acting stuff so far," she said, "but still there's not enough time for it. I probably would love to do more.

"But it's difficult because you still have to train (for skating). You just cannot go on the ice and do your program. You still have to practice before to be able to perform."

The concept behind "Kisses on Ice," she explained, is "kind of a nice, romantic theme. We're having lots of songs about love, romance and, of course, kisses."

Witt said she and the show's other skaters -- including 1992 Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko; '84 and '88 silver medalist Brian Orser; three-time World Championship silver medalist Surya Bonaly; and '95 U.S. National Champion Nicole Bobek -- will also skate to the words of the world's greatest poets, as well as prose written by she and the others that explains "why you kiss, when you kiss, where do you kiss."

Is Witt a hopeless romantic? "If I have the time, yes."

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