Ralph Borghard (born 17 April 1944) is a German former

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 ...

who represented

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

for most of his career. He is the 1963

Blue Swords Blue Swords (german: Pokal der Blauen Schwerter) is an international figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union. It is usually held in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladi ...

champion and a three-time East German national champion (1963, 1964, and 1966). His best result at an ISU Championship, sixth, came at the 1966 European Championships.

Personal life

Ralph Borghard was born 17 April 1944 in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. He became a dentist in Berlin.

Career

Ralph Borghard represented East Germany and SC Dynamo Berlin for most of his career, coached by Inge Wischnewski. In 1962, he won the East German national silver medal and was given his first major international assignment, the 1962 European Championships. He finished 15th at the event in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. The following season, he became the national champion and improved to 11th at Europeans. In the 1963–64 season, Borghard won

and his second national title. He qualified to represent the United Team of Germany at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

and finished 11th. In the 1965–66 season, Borghard won his third national title and finished sixth at the 1966 European Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. His next assignment was the World Championships in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

, Switzerland in late February 1966. After concluding the competition in 14th place, he decided not to return to East Germany and

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to West Germany. In April 1966, it was reported that Borghard and a West German single skater, Uschi Keszler, had considered teaming up to compete in pairs. The two practiced some lifts together but her parents rejected the idea. Borghard returned to single skating and won the 1967 West German national silver medal before retiring from competition.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borghard, Ralph German male single skaters 1944 births Living people Olympic figure skaters of Germany Figure skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics People from Rostock East German defectors Olympic figure skaters of the United Team of Germany