Karel Kovář is a former

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

of Slovak origin, now a figure skating coach in the United States.

Career

After having a short solo career, he joined his sister Dagmar Kovářová in pairs. He relocated to Bratislava to train with coach

Agnesa Búřilová Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek , meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as , to French as , to Portuguese as , and to Spanish as . It is also written as "Agness". Inez is an English variant. The Greek name ...

. Kovář and Kovářová participated in the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

in Prague in 1988, where they finished in the last, 11th place. In the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, they finished second in the

Czechoslovak figure skating championships The Czechoslovak Figure Skating Championships were a national championship held annually in Czechoslovakia until its dissolution in 1993 into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladi ...

behind René Novotný and Lenka Knapová. Two years later he participated in the 1990 European Championships joining Soviet Union's Svetlana Dragaeva in a mixed-nation couple (some sources identify them as competing under the flag of ISU), finishing 13th. They were training in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, under Ludmila Velikova. He was then studying at the Lesgaft State Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Health. After retiring from his competitive career, he performed in

Disney on Ice Walt Disney's World on Ice is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. division under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure ska ...

, where he met his future wife Amanda Baer Kovar. They together participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. He settled in the United States, in Ogden where he works as a figure skating coach with his wife, occasionally cooperating with Jozef Sabovčík. Their children, Kai Kovar and Milada Kovar are both figure skaters. Karel Kovář works as the skating director for Weber County. Karel Kovář and his wife were the first coaches of the future Olympic champion

Nathan Chen Nathan Wei Chen (born May 5, 1999) is an American figure skating, figure skater. He is the Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's singles, 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World Figure Skating Championships#Men, World champion ...

Career

Results

With Dragaeva

With Kovářová

References