Jana Thiel
Born(1971-10-17)17 October 1971
Peitz im Spreewald, Spreewald, Bezirk Cottbus, East Germany
Died11 July 2016(2016-07-11) (aged 44)
Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Occupation(s)Journalist
Sports presenter
Years active1989–2016
PartnerMichael Stolle

Jana Thiel (17 October 1971 – 11 July 2016) was a German sports presenter and journalist for ZDF. She worked at the radio station Antenne Brandenburg before moving on to the sports department of Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg. Thiel joined Deutsche Welle's television station DW-TV in 1999 and worked there until 2002. She began working at ZDF in 2000 as a sports reporter for the television programme ZDF-Morgenmagazin and then the broadcaster's primary sports department as an editor and presenter of the main evening sports bulletin on heute four years later. Thiel covered the Winter Olympic Games, the Summer Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, Alpine skiing, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the FEI World Equestrian Games.

Biography

On 17 October 1971,[1][2] Thiel was born in Peitz im Spreewald in the Spreewald.[3][4] She was raised in Brandenburg.[1] Thiel's career in journalist began in 1989 when she worked at the radio station Antenne Brandenburg,[4][5] which was part of the Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB) in Potsdam,[3] as an editor, presenter and reporter.[1] In 1994, she made the switch to television, working in the sports department of the ORB, to gain further experience.[5][6] From 1997 to 1999,[2] Thiel was a student of journalism at the Free University of Berlin whilst continuing her media career and broadening her knowledge.[6][7]

She worked for the sports news department as a sports moderator for the news bulletin broadcast by the Deutsche Welle television station DW-TV from 1999 to 2002.[1][3] Thiel began working part-time for the broadcaster ZDF and was a sports reporter for the television programme ZDF-Morgenmagazin in Berlin starting from 2000.[1][3][8] She was nominated for a Deutscher Fernsehpreis award in the Best Sports Broadcast category for her coverage of the 2002 Tour de France and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.[9] In mid-2003, she was moved to present the afternoon and evening heute sport bulletins, temporarily replacing the former professional swimmer and broadcaster Kristin Otto, who was on maternity leave.[10] Thiel was switched to ZDF's primary sports department in Mainz in October 2004,[2][7] working as an editor and presenter of the main evening sports bulletin on heute.[1][6]

She presented coverage as well as reported on coverage of each of the Winter Olympic Games,[1] the Summer Olympic Games from the 2000 edition,[11] and the Paralympic Games of 2004, 2008 and 2012.[1][7] From 2005, Thiel presented broadcasts of ZDF-Sport-extra in which she covered Alpine winter sport competitions,[7] which became one of her specialities.[4] She presented coverage of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, the 2006 FIFA World Cup which was held in Germany,[1] the FEI World Equestrian Games,[6] and golf.[8] The final year of Thiel's life (2016) saw her present coverage of the Alpine World Cup for the ZDF-Sport-extra programme as well as the sports bulletin on heute that May.[3][7] She was working on writing a book prior to her death.[12]

Personal life and death

Thiel was in a long-term relationship with pole vaulter Michael Stolle.[13] She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and underwent successful treatment,[13] keeping her free of tumour cells until symptoms re-emerged in 2014.[8] Thiel continued to work throughout her treatment but the cancer had metastasised to her lungs.[13] On the morning of 11 July 2016,[14] she died of her illness in the intensive care unit at Heidelberg University Clinic.[12][13] Thiel was given a funeral four days later and she is buried at the south cemetery of Cottbus.[14]

Legacy

Joachim Huber of Der Tagesspiegel wrote of Thiel: "Anyone who saw and heard Jana Thiel during her moderation and interviews experienced a television journalist who concentrated on the finesse of a sport and the performance characteristics of an athlete. Hooray style was alien to her as well as a strenuous distance. She was involved, she wanted to convey to the audience what it could see – and what it couldn't see – without frills and undulating images. The information came first, she did not get involved in any vanity."[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Riedmeier, Glenn (11 July 2016). "ZDF-Sportmoderatorin Jana Thiel im Alter von 44 Jahren verstorben" [ZDF sports presenter Jana Thiel died at the age of 44]. Fernsehserien. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jana Thiel: Ehemalige Moderatorin der HR Sport" [Jana Thiel: Former presenter of HR Sport] (in German). ZDF. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Huber, Joachim (11 July 2016). "ZDF-Sportmoderatorin Jana Thiel gestorben" [ZDF sports presenter Jana Thiel has died]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Schikora, Klaus (11 July 2016). "ZDF-Sportreporterin Jana Thiel mit 44 Jahren gestorben" [ZDF sports reporter Jana Thiel died at the age of 44] (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 Tonnar, Chantal (11 July 2016). "ZDF-Ski-alpin-Expertin Jana Thiel ist tot" [ZDF alpine ski expert Jana Thiel is dead]. Tageblatt (in German). Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "ZDF-Sportmoderatorin Jana Thiel tot" [ZDF sports presenter Jana Thiel is dead]. Die Welt (in German). 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "So trauern Kollegen um ZDF-Sportmoderatorin Jana Thiel" [This is how colleagues mourn the loss of ZDF sports presenter Jana Thiel]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Haas, Christa (13 July 2016). "Nachruf Auf Jana Thiel: Lebensmotto: Nie aufgeben!!!" [Obituary for Jana Thiel: Motto in life: never give up !!!] (in German). Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Nominierte 2002" [Nominees in 2002] (in German). Deutscher Fernsehpreis. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Moderatorin auf Zeit: Jana Thiel halbiert ihre kurzen Nächte" [Temporary moderator: Jana Thiel halves her short nights]. Die Welt (in German). 5 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Eagues Mitglied Jana Thiel ist tot" [Eagles Member Jana Thiel is dead] (in German). Exklusiv-Golfen.de. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Diese drei Wünsche hatte die ZDF-Moderatorin vor ihrem Krebstod" [The ZDF presenter had these three wishes before her cancer death]. Focus (in German). 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Jana Thiel: Ihr letzter Wunsch blieb unerfüllt ..." [Jana Thiel: Her last wish remained unfulfilled ...]. Bunte (in German). 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Jana Thiel (†) Bewegender Abschied" [Jana Thiel (†) Moving farewell] (in German). Gala.de. 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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