Kathy Radzuweit

About Kathy Radzuweit

Even as a teenager, the 1.96-meter-tall Radzuweit played at a high level. She played for VC Olympia Berlin in the second division of the German Volleyball League North. After graduating from high school, she was already playing for VC Olympia in the first division of the German Volleyball League.

Her mother, Elke, was also a national volleyball player. She represented East Germany at the 1978 World Championships in Leningrad. Her father was a Cuban national player.

With the national team, she gained her first international experience at the 2001 Grand Prix. Her switch from opposite hitter to middle blocker proved beneficial. At the 2003 European Championships in Turkey, she was the tournament's best blocker.

She became known to a wider public less for her athletic achievements and more for erotic photoshoots. In 2002, she posed for Max magazine. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) noted "immense public interest" and referred to her, somewhat ambiguously, as a "desirable benchwarmer." The world commented: "Anyone who saw the pictures will confirm that the 20-year-old middle blocker can hold her own alongside Anni Friesinger, Sina Schielke, Katja Poensgen, and other beauties of the sport: long legs, athletic build, curly hair, beautiful eyes."

After the German team's disappointing exit from the 2002 World Championships on home soil, her modeling work was indirectly held against her. "During that time, I heard voices whispering behind my back that I should do something else," Radzuweit said, looking back on the hostility.

Nevertheless, she posed nude for Playboy's Olympic special, published in September 2004. Fanny Rinne (hockey) and Britta Heidemann (fencing) also posed for the special.

In 2007, Radzuweit left Bayer Leverkusen and joined the Italian Serie A club Minetti Infoplus Vicenza. After another year in Italy with Pallavolo Donoratico, she returned to Germany in 2009 and played in the Bundesliga for VT Aurubis Hamburg until 2011.

At the 2010 World Championship in Japan, she and the national team achieved a respectable seventh place.

From 2011 to 2012, Kathy Radzuweit played in Azerbaijan for Rabita Baku, where she won the Club World Championship and became Azerbaijani champion in 2012. She then returned to the Bundesliga with SC Potsdam.

On July 20, 2015, after 17 years as a professional and 204 international appearances, Kathy Radzuweit announced her retirement. At the time, she stated her intention to work in the business sector.