Gilbert Fuchs (1871–1952) was a German figure skater who won the first

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

, held in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia, in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

. He recaptured the world title ten years later in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Relations with his constant rival

Ulrich Salchow Karl Emil Julius Ulrich Salchow (7 August 1877 – 19 April 1949) was a Danish-born Swedish figure skater, who dominated the sport in the first decade of the 20th century. Salchow won the World Figure Skating Championships ten times, from ...

were strained. In 1906, Salchow did not compete in Fuchs' hometown of Munich, because he expected that he would be judged unfairly. Likewise, Fuchs did not participate in the 1908 Olympics as he felt the judges favored Salchow. Only once did Fuchs place higher in a competition than Salchow, at the 1901 Europeans in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; he did not win the event, however, finishing in second place to Gustav Hügel of Austria. Fuchs mastered figure skating on his own, after learning

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

, and

stone put In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

. After finishing secondary school, he served in a cavalry regiment, later studying

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

in Vienna. Still later, he moved to Munich in the German state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, where he studied

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

. He practised figure skating on Germany's first artificial ice rink, "Unsöldsche Kunsteisbahn", which opened in 1892, and he represented Munich EV and Germany in competitions. Fuchs was a founding member of the Karlsruhe Ice Skating Club, founded in 1911. He wrote a book titled "Theory and Practice of Figure Skating" ''(German: "Theorie und Praxis des Kunstlaufes am Eise")'', published in 1926. Outside figure skating, Fuchs studied the

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

of the bark beetle ''(German: Borkenkäfer)''. In 1929, in his late fifties, he wrote his PhD thesis titled "European timber industry after the war" ''(German: "Europäische Holzwirtschaft der Nachkriegszeit")'' (the "war" referred to in the title is the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Results

^† Did not enter after being injured in a hunting accident in the high mountains

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Gilbert 1871 births 1952 deaths Sportspeople from Graz German entomologists German male single skaters World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists