Gundula "Gundi" Busch (April 29, 1935 – January 31, 2014) was a German figure skater. She was the 1954 World champion, the 1954 European champion, and a two-time West German national champion.

Life and career

Early life

Gundula Busch was born on April 29, 1935, in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. She was a daughter of a German businessman. The family moved to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1944, and later to Garmisch-Partenkirchen,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Career

Busch began skating at age four and a half years. She also took ballet classes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and visited

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1950 to learn from elite skaters. Busch was coached by Thea Frenssen. Her skating club was SC Rießersee. She began representing West Germany at major international events in 1951, after becoming the national bronze medalist. In 1952, she was selected to compete at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway; she placed 10th in compulsory figures, sixth in free skating, and 8th overall. Busch took silver at the 1953 European Championships in Dortmund, finishing second to

Valda Osborn Valda Rosemary Foggin ( Osborn; 17 September 1934 – 28 December 2022) was a British figure skater. She was the 1953 European champion and World bronze medalist. Osborn represented her country at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, wh ...

of the United Kingdom. At the 1953 World Championships in Davos, she won silver behind

Tenley Albright Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the ...

of the United States. Busch won gold at the 1954 European Championships in

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

, ahead of British skaters

Erica Batchelor Erica Anne Batchelor (born 10 August 1933, in Poole, England) is a British 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 th ...

and Yvonne Sugden. She then outscored Albright and Batchelor for the gold medal at the 1954 World Championships in Oslo. She was the first ladies' single skater representing Germany to become a world champion. Deciding to end her amateur skating career, Busch accepted an offer from the Hollywood Ice Revue. She performed as a professional skater at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1955.

Later years

Busch married a Swedish professional ice hockey player, Lill-Lulle Johansson, in 1955. They moved with their son, Peter Lulle Johansson, to Stockholm, Sweden. Busch worked as a figure skating coach in Sweden for many years before retiring in 1997. Busch died after a prolonged illness at Stockholm's Saint Göran Hospital on January 31, 2014.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Gundi 1935 births 2014 deaths Figure skaters from Milan German female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Germany World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Italian people of German descent