Arnold Gerschwiler OBE (28 May 1914 – 22 August 2003) was a Swiss (later, British)

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.

Personal life

Gerschwiler was born in

Arbon Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Arbon is located on the southern shore of Lake Constance, on a railway line between Konstanz/Romanshorn and Rorsch ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He was the half-brother of

Jacques Gerschwiler Jacques Gerschwiler (10 September 1898 – 4 May 2000) was a Swiss figure skater and coach. Among his students were Cecilia Colledge, Jeannette Altwegg, Sally Stapleford, Bridget Adams, Barbara Wyatt, and Jacqueline Harbord. Born in Arbo ...

and the uncle of Hans Gerschwiler. At the encouragement of Jacques, he moved to

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 ...

, England. He married Violet Blundell in August 1941. They had two daughters, Stella and Claire, two grandsons and two granddaughters. Gerschwiler lived in Ailsa Road, St Margarets,

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

for 53 years. He died on 22 August 2003 at St Anthony's Hospital,

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...

at the age of 89.

Career

Gerschwiler competed in the British Open Ice-Skating Championships in 1935 and 1936 and joined the staff of the

Richmond Ice Rink Richmond Ice Rink was an ice skating rink at Clevedon Road, Twickenham, formerly in Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. When it opened, in 1928, it had the longest ice surface in any indoor rink in the world and it ...

in 1937. He was head coach there from 1938, and served as director in 1964 until the facility was demolished in 1992. He coached the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

skater Alena Vrzanova (Aja Zanova), world champion in 1949 and 1950, as well as his own nephew Hans Gerschwiler, the 1948 Olympic silver medallist. He also coached the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

skaters

John Curry John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, Olympic and World Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating. Early life Curry was ...

, 1976 Olympic and world champion, and Valda Osborn, British champion in 1952 and 1953 and European champion in 1953. Other European top skaters he coached included

Michael Booker Michael Allen Booker Jr. (born April 27, 1975) is an American former professional cornerback who played five seasons in the National Football League from 1997–2001. Early years Michael Booker started playing football later in his childhood. O ...

Ladislav Čáp Ladislav is a Czech, Slovak and Croatian variant of the Slavic name Vladislav. The female form of this name is Ladislava. Folk etymology occasionally links ''Ladislav'' with the Slavic goddess Lada. Spellings and variations In Bulgarian ...

Sjoukje Dijkstra Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (, born 28 January 1942) is a Dutch former competitive figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time Europe ...

Patricia Dodd Patricia Ann Dodd (born April 7, 1948) is a former figure skater who competed in ladies' singles for Great Britain. She is a three-time British national champion (1969 to 1971) and finished 15th at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Other notable result ...

Hanna Eigel Hanna Eigel (born May 20, 1939, in Vienna) is an Austrian 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 ...

Joan Haanappel Joan Haanappel (born 13 November 1940) is a Dutch former figure skater and sports presenter for NOS, AVRO, ZDF and Eurosport. She is a three-time European bronze medalist (1958–1960) and a four-time Dutch national champion. Career Skating c ...

Helmut Seibt Hellmut Seibt (born 25 June 1929 – 21 July 1992) was an Austrian figure skater. He was the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, 1951 World bronze medalist, a two-time European champion (1951–52), and three-time national champion. Personal life ...

and Daphne Walker. Gerschwiler was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1997. He and his brother Jacques were inducted into the

Professional Skaters Association The Professional Skaters Association International is the largest figure skating coaches association in the world. The PSA was founded on August 10, 1938, in Lake Placid, New York, as the American Skaters Guild, just two years (1936) after the Ice ...

's Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

External links

1979 interview with Gerschwiler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerschwiler, Arnold 1914 births 2003 deaths British figure skating coaches Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Arbon People from Twickenham Swiss figure skaters Swiss figure skating coaches Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom Sportspeople from Thurgau

Personal life

Career

See also

References

External links