Eduard "Edi" Scholdan (1911 or 1912 — February 15, 1961) was an Austrian figure skater and figure skating coach.

Personal life

Scholdan was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. 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 Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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 ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado beginning in 1945. His students included: *

Eva Pawlik Eva Pawlik (4 October 1927 – 31 July 1983) was an Austrian figure skater, show star, actress and commentator. She was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist, the 1948 World silver medalist, and the 1949 European champion. Early life Born in 1927, ...

, the 1948 Olympic silver medalist *

Hayes Alan Jenkins Hayes Alan Jenkins (born March 23, 1933) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1956 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion (1953–1956), and a four-time U.S. national champion (1953–1956). Personal life Jenkins was born on ...

, 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 Figu ...

, 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 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 Br ...

, which was carrying the entire U.S. Figure Skating team to the 1961

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, ...

. Aged 50 at the time of his death, he was travelling as the coach of Gregory Kelley, Stephanie Westerfeld, and Bill Hickox and Laurie Hickox. Scholdan had planned to take his son to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and other places in Europe following the competition. The

Professional Skaters Association The Professional Skaters Association International is the largest figure skating coaches association in the world. The PSA was founded on August 10, 1938, in Lake Placid, New York, as the American Skaters Guild, just two years (1936) after the Ice ...

'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