Ursula "Uschi" Keszler (born August 13, 1948) is a
figure skating
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 ...
coach and choreographer and a former competitor for
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Career
Uschi Keszler qualified to represent the
United Team of Germany
The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...
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 ...
in
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 24th. The following season, she became the West German national champion and placed 11th at the 1965 European Championships.
In the 1965–66 season, Keszler won gold at the
Richmond Trophy
The Richmond Trophy was an international figure skating competition for ladies' singles held annually from 1949 to 1980 at the Richmond Ice Rink in Twickenham, London. It was the only invitational international competition (as opposed to the IS ...
and the national silver medal. In January 1966, Keszler placed eighth at 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, ...
pairs
Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and tw ...
skaters
Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius (; born 24 March 1943) is a German former pair skater. With Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion, and a six-time European champion. Earlier in her career, she competed with Fra ...
and
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (born 28 January 1942) is a German former pair skater, actor, and Schlager singer.
Career
Bäumler became famous in pair skating with his skating partner Marika Kilius. Between 1958 and 1964, they won the German nation ...
in 1964, the German Ice Skating Union was under pressure to produce more champion pairs. In April 1966, it was reported that Keszler and a fellow single skater,
Ralph Borghard
Ralph Borghard (born 17 April 1944) is a German former Figure skating, figure skater who represented East Germany for most of his career. He is the 1963 Blue Swords champion and a three-time East German Figure Skating Championships, East German ...
, had trained together to compete in pairs. Borghard had recently escaped from
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 ...
during the
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, ...
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 ...
. Six weeks after Borghard's escape, during which the two had practiced lifts, Keszler's parents and fiancé objected to the pairing. Ultimately, she never returned to competition.
Keszler spent eight months in hospital after contracting
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
and was advised by her doctors not to return to competition. She began working as a coach and choreographer in the United States. Keszler is known primarily for her work with Canadian skaters
Brian Orser
Brian Ernest Orser, (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Can ...
,
Elvis Stojko
Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).
Personal ...
, and
Shae-Lynn Bourne
Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, pl ...
/
Victor Kraatz
Victor Kraatz, (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian former ice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship.
Personal life
Born on April 7, 1971 in West Berlin, V ...
. Keszler invented the term "
hydroblading
A hydroblade is a figure skating edge move or connecting step in which a skater glides on a deep edge with the body stretched in a very low position, almost touching the ice. Several variations in position are possible, but one commonly perfo ...
" to refer to skating on deep edges low to the ice, and using it as a training technique. In 1997, she became a co-owner of the
Ice Works
IceWorks is an ice arena in Aston, Pennsylvania USA, 15 minutes southwest of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 10 minutes northeast of Wilmington, Delaware. IceWorks Skating Complex opened in October 1997. The building consists of four ice ...
rink in
Aston, Pennsylvania
Aston Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,592 at the 2010 census.
History
Aston was first settled in 1682 as a municipality and was ...
.
Personal life
Keszler was born in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
and settled in the United States. She married Aram Boornazian, with whom she has a son, Marc. A survivor of
breast
The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.
In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...
and
uterine cancer
Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the uteru ...
, she founded
Uschi Keszler's Pennies-in-Action Cancer Research Fund Uschi Keszler's Pennies in Action Cancer Research Fund, holding a full 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation status, exists to support research for breast cancer curative programs, including preventative vaccines and other biological therapies that do n ...