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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Romania |
| 19 | Pekka Leskinen |  Finland |
| 20 | Peter Augustovic | Czechoslovakia |
| 21 | Thomas Öberg |  Sweden |
| 22 | Zoran Matas | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
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