Marika Kilius
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Marika Kilius (; born 24 March 1943) is a German former
pair skater 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 ...
. With
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 ...
, 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
Franz Ningel Franz Ningel (born 18 October 1936 in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen) is a former German Pair skating, pair skater and roller skater. Ningel became World and European champion as a single roller figure skater in 1956 and 1957. He also won the German ...
.


Personal life

Marika Kilius, the daughter of a hairdresser, was born on 24 March 1943 in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...
. In 1964, she married Werner Zahn, the son of a factory owner from Frankfurt am Main. The couple divorced, and Kilius also divorced her second husband. She has two children, Sascha and Melanie Schäfer, and as of May 2005, two grandchildren.


Career

Kilius began as a singles skater but picked up pairs very early. Her first partner was
Franz Ningel Franz Ningel (born 18 October 1936 in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen) is a former German Pair skating, pair skater and roller skater. Ningel became World and European champion as a single roller figure skater in 1956 and 1957. He also won the German ...
. They placed fourth at the 1956 Olympics and won the silver medal at the 1957 World Championships. Kilius was still a child when she was paired with Ningel, who was more than six years her senior. By 1957 she had grown to be taller than her partner, which caused problems on their lifts, so the team split up. For a time following her split with Ningel, Kilius competed in
artistic roller skating Artistic roller skating is a sport similar to figure skating but where competitors wear roller skates instead of ice skates. Within artistic roller skating, there are several disciplines: * Figures: the individual follows the figure circle lin ...
as a singles skater. She was the World Roller ladies' champion in 1958. Meanwhile, in 1957, Kilius began skating with
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 ...
under the tutelage of
Erich Zeller Erich Zeller (13 January 1920 in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany – 6 November 2001 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany) was a German figure skater and figure skating coach. Erich Zeller as a skater represented the club Rot-Weiß-Berlin and ...
. Between 1958 and 1964, they won the German Championships four times, European Championships six times and the World Championships two times. Their first World title, in 1963, followed cancellation of the 1961 event due to the crash of
Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 flight operated by Sabena that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport, crashed on approach to Bru ...
and a collision during their performance at the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships that forced them to withdraw. Kilius and Baumler also captured the silver medal at the Olympics twice, in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
and 1964. The skaters had signed professional contracts and skated as professionals with
Holiday on Ice Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently owned by Medusa Music Group GmbH, a subsidiary of CTS EVENTIM, Europe's largest ticket distributor, with its headquarters in Bremen, Germany. History Holiday on Ice originated in the United States in Decem ...
before the 1964 Olympics, a violation of their amateur status and strict IOC rules. In 1966, because the team had signed a professional skating contract before the 1964 Winter Olympics – against the rules at the time – they were
stripped Stripped may refer to: Music * "Stripped" (song), by Depeche Mode, 1986 * ''Stripped'' (Christina Aguilera album) or the title song, 2002 * ''Stripped'' (Daniel Ash album), 2014 * ''Stripped'' (Macy Gray album), 2016 * ''Stripped'' (Pretty Ma ...
of the medal. As the ''New York Times'' reported, "prodded by two German members, the IOC "quietly re-awarded the West Germans their silver medals in 1987, 23 years after the Innsbruck Games, at an executive board meeting in Istanbul. The couple was deemed 'rehabilitated.'" Kilius was voted the German female
athlete of the year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...
in 1959.


Results


Pairs with Franz Ningel


Pairs with Hans-Jürgen Bäumler


References


External links


Who is who.de

Olympia Lexikon.de

HR (German TV Station)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilius, Marika 1943 births Living people German female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters of the United Team of Germany Olympic silver medalists for the United Team of Germany Olympic medalists in figure skating Figure skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Sportspeople from Frankfurt