Karel Kovář is a former
Czechoslovak 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 ...
of
Slovak origin, now a figure skating coach in the United States.
Career
After having a short solo career, he joined his sister
Dagmar Kovářová in pairs. He relocated to Bratislava to train with coach
Agnesa Búřilová. Kovář and Kovářová participated in the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
in Prague in 1988, where they finished in the last, 11th place. In 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, they finished second in the
Czechoslovak figure skating championships The Czechoslovak Figure Skating Championships were a national championship held annually in Czechoslovakia until its dissolution in 1993 into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladi ...
behind
René Novotný and
Lenka Knapová. Two years later he participated in the
1990 European Championships joining Soviet Union's
Svetlana Dragaeva in a mixed-nation couple (some sources identify them as competing under the flag of
ISU), finishing 13th. They were training in
Leningrad, under
Ludmila Velikova
Ludmila Georgiyevna Velikova (russian: Людмила Георгиевна Великова; ''née'' Sinitsina, russian: Синицина; born November 4, 1947 in Leningrad) is a Russian pair skating coach and former competitor.
Ludmila Sinits ...
. He was then studying at the
Lesgaft State Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Health.
After retiring from his competitive career, he performed in
Disney on Ice
Disney on Ice, originally Walt Disney's World on Ice, is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows fea ...
, where he met his future wife Amanda Baer Kovar. They together participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in
Salt Lake City.
He settled in the United States, in
Ogden where he works as a figure skating coach with his wife, occasionally cooperating with
Jozef Sabovčík. Their children,
Kai Kovar and
Milada Kovar are both figure skaters.
Karel Kovář works as the skating director for
Weber County.
Karel Kovář and his wife were the first coaches of the future Olympic champion
Nathan Chen, teaching him until he was 9.
Results
With Dragaeva
With Kovářová
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovar, Karel
Czechoslovak figure skaters