Eduard "Edi" Scholdan (1911 or 1912 — February 15, 1961) was an Austrian

figure skater 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 ...

and figure skating coach.

Personal life

Scholdan was born in Vienna. He moved to the United States in 1938. In 1946, he married a figure skater, Roberta Jenks, with whom he had two children, Ruth and Jimmy, and a stepdaughter, Dixie Lee.

Career

Scholdan represented Austria as a competitor at the 1933 World Championships. However, he became better known as a coach; he worked at the

Broadmoor Skating Club The Broadmoor Skating Club is a figure skating club based in Colorado Springs, Colorado that has long been a major training center for the sport of figure skating. Founded in 1939, it was originally known as the Pikes Peak Skating Club, and was ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

beginning in 1945. His students included: * Eva Pawlik, the 1948 Olympic silver medalist * Hayes Alan Jenkins, the 1956 Olympic champion * David Jenkins, the 1960 Olympic champion *

James Grogan James David "Jim" Grogan (December 7, 1931 – July 3, 2000) was an American figure skater who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Oslo Olympics. He also won four silver medals at the United States Figure Skating Championships and at the World Fig ...

, 1952 Olympic bronze medalist * Ina Bauer * Karol Kennedy / Peter Kennedy, the 1950 World pairs champions * Ronnie Robertson, the 1955 World silver medalist In 1961, Scholdan and his 13-year-old son were among those killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548, which was carrying the entire

U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...

team to the 1961 World Championships. Aged 50 at the time of his death, he was travelling as the coach of Gregory Kelley,

Stephanie Westerfeld Stephanie "Steffi" Westerfeld (October 8, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She earned a place on the United States' world team for the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships, after she finished second at 1961 U.S Nat ...

, and Bill Hickox and Laurie Hickox. Scholdan had planned to take his son to Vienna and other places in Europe following the competition. The Professional Skaters Association's annual awards are called "EDI awards" in Scholdan's honor. Scholdan was president of that organization from 1950 to 1954 and was inducted into the inaugural class of their Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholdan, Edi 1910s births 1961 deaths Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian male single skaters Austrian figure skating coaches Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1961