Her first partner was Axel Rauschenbach. The pair won the silver medal at the 1989 European Championships. Rauschenbach's skate blade struck Wötzel's head in 1989 while they were performing side-by-side camel spins.[2][3][4] She was in hospital for three months and missed half a year of school.[2][3] Wötzel and Rauschenbach competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where they finished 8th.