The 1972

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European champion. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, an ...

was a senior-level international competition held at the

Scandinavium Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971. Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on January 11–15. Elite senior-level

figure skaters 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 ...

from European ISU member nations competed for the title of European Champion in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles,

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

, and

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

Overview

The 1970 European bronze medalist,

Günter Zöller Günter Zöller (born 21 May 1948) is a German figure skating coach and former competitor for East Germany. He is the 1970 World bronze medalist, the 1970 European bronze medalist, a five-time Blue Swords champion, and a five-time East German ...

, arrived in

with the East German team but withdrew before the start of the event after going to the West German embassy to defect. In the men's event, the top three after the

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

held their placements for the medals.

Ondrej Nepela Ondrej Nepela (22 January 1951 – 2 February 1989) was a Slovak figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia. He was the 1972 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion (1971–73), and a five-time European champion (1969–73). Later in h ...

completed triple salchow and toe loop jumps and finished first ahead of

Sergei Chetverukhin Sergei Alexandrovich Chetverukhin (russian: Серге́й Александрович Четверухин; born 12 January 1946) is a former Soviet figure skater. He is the 1972 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World medalist, and a four-ti ...

, who skated with power, flow, and elegance but fell on a triple salchow attempt.

Patrick Péra Patrick Péra (born 17 January 1949 in Lyon) is a French figure skater. He won the bronze medal in men's singles in the 1968 Winter Olympics, became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic medalists. He won the bronze medal again a ...

won the bronze medal with no triples at all. Yuri Ovchinnikov placed second in the free skating but was unable to move up to the podium after placing seventh in figures."Europeans", ''Skating'' magazine, Apr 1972 The ladies' title was again won by defending champion

Beatrix Schuba Beatrix "Trixi" Schuba (born 15 April 1951) is an Austrian former competitive figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She is a six-time Austrian national champion (1967–1972), a two-time European champion ( 1971 and 1972), a two-time ...

, who built up such an overwhelming lead in the compulsory figures that she won by a huge margin despite placing 5th in the free skating. Afterwards a German newspaper mocked her as the "Champion Without a Double Axel".

Rita Trapanese Rita Trapanese (8 May 1951 – 10 August 2000) was an Italian figure skater. She was the 1972 European silver medalist and the 1971 bronze medalist. She represented Italy at the 1968 Winter Olympics, where she placed 25th at the age of 16, and ...

took the silver medal, while

Sonja Morgenstern Sonja Morgenstern (born 22 January 1955) is a German figure skating coach and former competitor. Morgenstern was coached by Jutta Müller in Chemnitz and represented the SC Karl-Marx-Stadt club and East Germany ( GDR). In 1966 she won the Sp ...

moved up to bronze medal position after winning the free skating with a performance for which she received a 6.0 mark for artistic impression. In the pairs event,

Irina Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina ( rus, Ирина Константиновна Роднина, p=ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skating, figure skater, who is ...

Alexei Ulanov Alexei Nikolaevich Ulanov (russian: Алексей Николаевич Уланов; born 4 November 1947) is a retired pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With Irina Rodnina, he is the 1972 Olympic champion and a four-time (1969–19 ...

also successfully defended their title in spite of some small mistakes.

Liudmila Smirnova Lyudmila Stanislavovna Smirnova (russian: Людмила Станиславовна Смирнова; born July 21, 1949, in Leningrad) is a retired pair skater who competed for the Soviet Union. With partner Andrei Suraikin, she is the 197 ...

Andrei Suraikin Andrei Alexandrovich Suraikin (russian: Андрей Александрович Сурайкин; 20 October 1948 -28 September 1996) was a Russian pair skater. With partner Liudmila Smirnova, he was the 1972 Olympic silver medalist. Car ...

won the silver with a performance that was considered more artistic, if less difficult, than that of the winners. The third-place team,

Manuela Groß Manuela Manja Groß (later Leupold, born 29 January 1957 in East Berlin, East Germany) is a German former competitive pair skater. With partner Uwe Kagelmann, she is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, and she is the youngest female figure skat ...

Uwe Kagelmann Uwe Kagelmann (born 6 September 1950 in Dresden, Saxony, East Germany/ GDR) is a German former competitive pair skater. Competing with Manuela Groß, he was twice bronze medalist at the Olympics. He later became a figure skating coach. The pai ...

, included two throw double axels in their free skating, which at that time was one of the most difficult elements attempted by pair skaters, and unusual enough to draw comment. As Gross was only 14 years old at this time while her partner Kagelmann was a tall grown man of 21, they were one of the first of what later became known as "one-and-a-half" or "flea-and-gorilla" pair teams.Beverley Smith, ''Figure Skating: A Celebration'', The dance event was the only discipline in which the title changed hands, as Angelika and

Erich Buck Erich Buck (born 5 January 1949) is a German former ice dancer who competed for West Germany. With his sister Angelika Buck, he is the 1972 European champion, a four-time World medalist, and a six-time West German national champion. Career ...

unseated the defending champions

Lyudmila Pakhomova Lyudmila Alekseyevna Pakhomova (russian: Людмила Алексеевна Пахомова; 31 December 1946 – 17 May 1986) was an ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union. With her husband Alexandr Gorshkov, she was the 1976 Olympic c ...

/ Alexander Gorshkov. The bronze medal went to the veteran British competitor

Janet Sawbridge Janet Anne Sawbridge (1947 – 5 March 2021) was a British ice dancer and figure skating coach. Partnered with David Hickinbottom, she won bronze at the 1964 World Figure Skating Championships and silver at the 1965 World Figure Skating Champio ...

, now skating with Peter Dalby. It was Sawbridge's sixth medal at the European championships, achieved with three different partners.

Results

Men

Ladies

Pairs

Ice dancing

References

External links

results
{{European Figure Skating Championships European Figure Skating Championships, 1972 European Figure Skating Championships, 1972 European Figure Skating Championships International figure skating competitions hosted by Sweden International sports competitions in Gothenburg 1970s in Gothenburg European Figure Skating Championships, 1972