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:  | |
Ladies' singles:  | |
Pair skating:  | |
Ice dance:  | |
| 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 | |
| 2 | Sergei Chetverukhin | |
| 3 | Patrick Péra |  |
| 4 | Haig Oundjian |  |
| 5 | John Curry | |
| 6 | Vladimir Kovalev | |
| 7 | Yuri Ovchinnikov | |
| 8 | Didier Gailhaguet | |
| 9 | Daniel Höner |  |
| 10 | Zdeněk Pazdírek | |
| 11 | Bernd Wunderlich |  |
| 12 | Josef Schneider | |
| 13 | Stefano Bargauan |  |
| 14 | László Vajda |  |
| 15 | Harald Kuhn | |
| 16 | Günther Hilgarth | |
| 17 | Gordon Andison | |
| 18 | Gheorghe Fazekas | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 19 | Pekka Leskinen |  |
| 20 | Peter Augustovic | |
| 21 | Thomas Öberg |  |
| 22 | Zoran Matas | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 23 | John Ferdinandsen |  |
| WD | Günter Zöller | |
Ladies
| Rank | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beatrix Schuba | |
| 2 | Rita Trapanese | |
| 3 | Sonja Morgenstern | |
| 4 | Zsuzsa Almássy | |
| 5 | Christine Errath | |
| 6 | Charlotte Walter | |
| 7 | Jean Scott | |
| 8 | Maria McLean | |
| 9 | Dianne de Leeuw |  |
| 10 | Elena Alexandrova | |
| 11 | Isabel de Navarre | |
| 12 | Liana Drahová | |
| 13 | Gerti Schanderl | |
| 14 | Anita Johansson | |
| 15 | Karin Iten | |
| 16 | Cinzia Frosio | |
| 17 | Sonja Balun | |
| 18 | Urszula Zielińska |  |
| 19 | Hana Knapová | |
| 20 | Marie-Claude Bierre | |
| 21 | Steffi Knoll | |
| 22 | Iris Ebenwaldner | |
| 23 | Marina Sanaya | |
| 24 | Donna Walter | |
| 25 | Helena Gazvoda | |
| 26 | Manuele Bertele | |
| 27 | Liv Egelund |  |
| 28 | Kirsten Frikke | |
Pairs
| Rank | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irina Rodnina / Alexei Ulanov | |
| 2 | Liudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin | |
| 3 | Manuela Groß / Uwe Kagelmann | |
| 4 | Almut Lehmann / Herbert Wiesinger | |
| 5 | Annette Kansy / Axel Salzmann | |
| 6 | Irina Cherniaeva / Vasili Blagov | |
| 7 | Marlies Radunsky / Rolf Österreich | |
| 8 | Grażyna Osmańska / Adam Brodecki | |
| 9 | Corinna Halke / Eberhard Rausch | |
| 10 | Linda Connolly / Colin Taylforth | |
| 11 | Florence Cahn / Jean-Roland Racle | |
| 12 | Teresa Skrzek / Piotr Sczypa | |
| 13 | Gabriele Cieplik / Reinhard Ketterer | |
| 14 | Karin Künzle / Christian Künzle | |
| 15 | Ursula Nemec / Michael Nemec | |
| 16 | Pascale Kovelmann / Jean-Pierre Rondel | |
| 17 | Miroslava Sablikova / Pavel Komarek | |
| 18 | Jayne Torvill / Michael Hutchinson | |
Ice dancing
| Rank | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angelika Buck / Erich Buck | |
| 2 | Liudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov | |
| 3 | Janet Sawbridge / Peter Dalby | |
| 4 | Hilary Green / Glyn Watts | |
| 5 | Tatiana Voitiuk / Viacheslav Zhigalin | |
| 6 | Elena Zharkova / Gennadi Karponosov | |
| 7 | Diana Skotnická / Martin Skotnický | |
| 8 | Rosalind Druce / David Barker | |
| 9 | Teresa Weyna / Piotr Bojanczyk | |
| 10 | Anne-Claude Wolfers / Roland Mars | |
| 11 | Krisztina Regőczy / András Sallay | |
| 12 | Matilde Ciccia / Lamberto Ceserani | |
| 13 | Sylvia Fuchs / Michael Fuchs | |
| 14 | Ewa Kolodziej / Tadeusz Góra | |
| 15 | Brigitte Scheijbal / Walter Leschetizky | |
| 16 | Sylvia Bodmer / Beat Steib | |
| 17 | Astrid Kopp / Axel Kopp | |
| 18 | Svetlana Marinovova / Milos Bursik | |
| 19 | Vivi Poulsen / Kurt Poulsen | |
References
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- "Zoeller defects". United Press International. Star-News. 11 January 1972.
- "ZOV Sport Verräter: Günter Zöller". Landtag Brandenburg. April–May 2014.
- "Europeans", Skating magazine, Apr 1972
- Beverley Smith, Figure Skating: A Celebration, ISBN 0-7710-2819-9