West Germany’s Claudia Leistner stepped into the...

West Germany’s Claudia Leistner stepped into the void left by Katarina Witt to win the women’s gold medal in the European Figure Skating Championships at Birmingham, England.

The 23-year-old West German, who also won the school figures and original program, was her country’s first female titlist since Gundi Busch in 1954.

Natalia Lebedeva of the Soviet Union, at 24 the oldest competitor in the women’s event, gained the silver. Patricia Neske of West Germany won the bronze.