The 1961

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European champion. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, an ...

is an annual

figure skating competition A figure skating competition is a judged sports competition in figure skating. Types of figure skating competitions International International competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) are governed by the union's rules. ...

sanctioned by the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...

in which

figure skaters Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

compete for the title of European Champion in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles,

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

, and

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

. The competitions took place from January 26 to 29, 1961 in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. The event took place without the participation of skaters from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

not because of a political boycott, but rather because an exceptionally mild winter left the Russian skaters with insufficient ice for practice in their home country. The Soviet team was also withdrawn from the originally planned

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for the same reason, but that tournament was subsequently cancelled after

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 flight operated by Sabena that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport, crashed on approach to Bru ...

."News from Europe", ''Skating'' magazine, March 1961 The defending champions in all four divisions retained their titles. In the pairs competition, however, the champions

Marika Kilius Marika Kilius (; born 24 March 1943) is a German former pair skater. With Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion, and a six-time European champion. Earlier in her career, she competed with Fra ...

Hans-Jürgen Bäumler Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (born 28 January 1942) is a German former pair skater, actor, and Schlager singer. Career Bäumler became famous in pair skating with his skating partner Marika Kilius. Between 1958 and 1964, they won the German nation ...

faced a close battle with Margret Göbl &

Franz Ningel Franz Ningel (born 18 October 1936 in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen) is a former German Pair skating, pair skater and roller skater. Ningel became World and European champion as a single roller figure skater in 1956 and 1957. He also won the German ...

, who had defeated them at the West German championships earlier in the season. Göbl & Ningel may have been penalized for including an illegal

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

in their program."The European Championships", ''Skating'' magazine, May 1961 In the ladies' event,

Sjoukje Dijkstra Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (, born 28 January 1942) is a Dutch former competitive figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time Europe ...

built up a lead in the

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

that assured her of victory. Her free skating program was described as "exhausting". The stars of the free skating were Helli Sengstschmidt and

Jana Mrázková Jana Mrázková née Dočekalová (born 20 March 1940) is a Czech former figure skater who competed in ladies' singles for Czechoslovakia. She is the 1961 European Figure Skating Championships, European bronze medalist and appeared at two Winte ...

, who both reportedly did triple salchow jumps in their programs.

Alain Giletti Alain Giletti (born 11 September 1939 in Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain) is a French figure skater. He is the 1960 World champion, the 1955-1957 & 1960-1961 European champion and is a ten-time (1951–1957, 1959–1961) French national champion. At the ...

likewise assured himself of victory by winning the figures by a large margin. All three medalists in the men's division gave fine free skating performances.

Results

Men

Judges were *

Hans Meixner Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

* P. Baron * E. A. Voigt * K. Beyer * Pamela Davis * Ferenc Kertész * G. De Mori * C. Benedict-Stieber * A. Jaisli

Ladies

Judges were *

Martin Felsenreich Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

* E. Skakala * N. Valdes * A. Walker * G. S. Yates * Ferenc Kertész * Grazia Ferrari-Barcellona * C. Engelfriet * Karl Enderlin

Pairs

Judges were *

* E. Skakala * N. Valdes * E. Bauch * Theo Klemm * Pamela Davis * G. de Mori * C. Benedict-Stieber * A. Jaisli

Ice dancing

Judges were * W. Malek * E. Skakala * L. Lauret *

Hermann Schiechtl Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...

* H. Lawrence * Ferenc Kertész * C. Benacchi-Bordogna

References

Sources

* Result List provided by the ISU * printed program of the Europeans {{European Figure Skating Championships European Figure Skating Championships

1961 European Figure Skating Championships International figure skating competitions hosted by West Germany January 1961 sports events in Europe