1972 European Figure Skating Championships

The 1972 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior-level international competition held at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden on January 11–15. Elite senior-level figure skaters from European ISU member nations competed for the title of European Champion in the disciplines of men's singles,[1] ladies' singles,[2] pair skating,[3] and ice dancing.[4]

1972 European Championships
Type:ISU Championship
Season:1971-72
Location:Gothenburg, Sweden
Champions
Men's singles:
Ondrej Nepela
Ladies' singles:
Beatrix Schuba
Pair skating:
Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov
Ice dance:
Angelika Buck / Erich Buck
Previous:
1971 European Championships
Next:
1973 European Championships

Overview

The 1970 European bronze medalist, Günter Zöller, arrived in Gothenburg with the East German team but withdrew before the start of the event after going to the West German embassy to defect.[5][6]

In the men's event, the top three after the compulsory figures held their placements for the medals. Ondrej Nepela completed triple salchow and toe loop jumps and finished first ahead of Sergei Chetverukhin, who skated with power, flow, and elegance but fell on a triple salchow attempt. Patrick Péra won the bronze medal with no triples at all. Yuri Ovchinnikov placed second in the free skating but was unable to move up to the podium after placing seventh in figures.[7]

The ladies' title was again won by defending champion Beatrix Schuba, who built up such an overwhelming lead in the compulsory figures that she won by a huge margin despite placing 5th in the free skating. Afterwards a German newspaper mocked her as the "Champion Without a Double Axel". Rita Trapanese took the silver medal, while Sonja Morgenstern moved up to bronze medal position after winning the free skating with a performance for which she received a 6.0 mark for artistic impression.[7]

In the pairs event, Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov also successfully defended their title in spite of some small mistakes. Liudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin won the silver with a performance that was considered more artistic, if less difficult, than that of the winners. The third-place team, Manuela Groß / Uwe Kagelmann, included two throw double axels in their free skating, which at that time was one of the most difficult elements attempted by pair skaters, and unusual enough to draw comment. As Gross was only 14 years old at this time while her partner Kagelmann was a tall grown man of 21, they were one of the first of what later became known as "one-and-a-half" or "flea-and-gorilla" pair teams.[7][8]

The dance event was the only discipline in which the title changed hands, as Angelika and Erich Buck unseated the defending champions Lyudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov. The bronze medal went to the veteran British competitor Janet Sawbridge, now skating with Peter Dalby. It was Sawbridge's sixth medal at the European championships, achieved with three different partners.[7]

Results

Men
Rank Name Nation
1 Ondrej Nepela Czechoslovakia
2 Sergei Chetverukhin Soviet Union
3 Patrick Péra France
4 Haig Oundjian United Kingdom
5 John Curry United Kingdom
6 Vladimir Kovalev Soviet Union
7 Yuri Ovchinnikov Soviet Union
8 Didier Gailhaguet France
9 Daniel Höner  Switzerland
10 Zdeněk Pazdírek Czechoslovakia
11 Bernd Wunderlich East Germany
12 Josef Schneider Austria
13 Stefano Bargauan Italy
14 László Vajda Hungary
15 Harald Kuhn West Germany
16 Günther Hilgarth Austria
17 Gordon Andison United Kingdom
18 Gheorghe Fazekas Romania
19 Pekka Leskinen Finland
20 Peter Augustovic Czechoslovakia
21 Thomas Öberg Sweden
22 Zoran Matas Yugoslavia
23 John Ferdinandsen Denmark
WD Günter Zöller East Germany

Ladies
Rank Name Nation
1 Beatrix Schuba Austria
2 Rita Trapanese Italy
3 Sonja Morgenstern East Germany
4 Zsuzsa Almássy Hungary
5 Christine Errath East Germany
6 Charlotte Walter  Switzerland
7 Jean Scott United Kingdom
8 Maria McLean United Kingdom
9 Dianne de Leeuw Netherlands
10 Elena Alexandrova Soviet Union
11 Isabel de Navarre West Germany
12 Liana Drahová Czechoslovakia
13 Gerti Schanderl West Germany
14 Anita Johansson Sweden
15 Karin Iten  Switzerland
16 Cinzia Frosio Italy
17 Sonja Balun Austria
18 Urszula Zielińska Poland
19 Hana Knapová Czechoslovakia
20 Marie-Claude Bierre France
21 Steffi Knoll East Germany
22 Iris Ebenwaldner Austria
23 Marina Sanaya Soviet Union
24 Donna Walter  Switzerland
25 Helena Gazvoda Yugoslavia
26 Manuele Bertele Italy
27 Liv Egelund Norway
28 Kirsten Frikke Denmark

Pairs
Rank Name Nation
1 Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov Soviet Union
2 Liudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin Soviet Union
3 Manuela Groß / Uwe Kagelmann East Germany
4 Almut Lehmann / Herbert Wiesinger West Germany
5 Annette Kansy / Axel Salzmann East Germany
6 Irina Cherniaeva / Vasili Blagov Soviet Union
7 Marlies Radunsky / Rolf Österreich East Germany
8 Grażyna Osmańska / Adam Brodecki Poland
9 Corinna Halke / Eberhard Rausch West Germany
10 Linda Connolly / Colin Taylforth United Kingdom
11 Florence Cahn / Jean-Roland Racle France
12 Teresa Skrzek / Piotr Sczypa Poland
13 Gabriele Cieplik / Reinhard Ketterer West Germany
14 Karin Künzle / Christian Künzle  Switzerland
15 Ursula Nemec / Michael Nemec Austria
16 Pascale Kovelmann / Jean-Pierre Rondel France
17 Miroslava Sablikova / Pavel Komarek Czechoslovakia
18 Jayne Torvill / Michael Hutchinson United Kingdom

Ice dancing
Rank Name Nation
1 Angelika Buck / Erich Buck West Germany
2 Liudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov Soviet Union
3 Janet Sawbridge / Peter Dalby United Kingdom
4 Hilary Green / Glyn Watts United Kingdom
5 Tatiana Voitiuk / Viacheslav Zhigalin Soviet Union
6 Elena Zharkova / Gennadi Karponosov Soviet Union
7 Diana Skotnická / Martin Skotnický Czechoslovakia
8 Rosalind Druce / David Barker United Kingdom
9 Teresa Weyna / Piotr Bojanczyk Poland
10 Anne-Claude Wolfers / Roland Mars France
11 Krisztina Regőczy / András Sallay Hungary
12 Matilde Ciccia / Lamberto Ceserani Italy
13 Sylvia Fuchs / Michael Fuchs West Germany
14 Ewa Kolodziej / Tadeusz Góra Poland
15 Brigitte Scheijbal / Walter Leschetizky Austria
16 Sylvia Bodmer / Beat Steib  Switzerland
17 Astrid Kopp / Axel Kopp West Germany
18 Svetlana Marinovova / Milos Bursik Czechoslovakia
19 Vivi Poulsen / Kurt Poulsen Denmark
gollark: What is this "good place"?
gollark: The garland SAlts are very cool.
gollark: That's not even very weird.
gollark: ⚡
gollark: Sorcery.

References
  1. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-147122-164338-54457-0-file,00.pdf Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-147123-164339-54461-0-file,00.pdf Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-147120-164336-54459-0-file,00.pdf Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-147119-164335-54460-0-file,00.pdf Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Zoeller defects". United Press International. Star-News. 11 January 1972.
  6. "ZOV Sport Verräter: Günter Zöller". Landtag Brandenburg. April–May 2014.
  7. "Europeans", Skating magazine, Apr 1972
  8. Beverley Smith, Figure Skating: A Celebration, ISBN 0-7710-2819-9
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