Manfred Schnelldorfer
Manfred Schnelldorfer (2011)
Born (1943-05-02) 2 May 1943
Munich, Bavaria
Figure skating career
Country Germany
Skating clubMunich ERC
Retired1964
Medal record
Men's figure skating
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1964 Innsbruck Singles
Representing  West Germany
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1964 Dortmund Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1963 Cortina d'Ampezzo Singles
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1964 Grenoble Singles
Silver medal – second place 1963 Budapest Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1962 Geneva Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1961 Berlin Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Singles

Manfred Schnelldorfer (born 2 May 1943) is a German former figure skater. He is the 1964 Olympic champion, the 1964 World champion, and an eight-time German national champion.

Personal life

Manfred Schnelldorfer was born on 2 May 1943 in Munich, Bavaria, the son of two figure skating coaches.[1][2] His father had skated in an ice revue but saw its milieu as a harmful influence.[1]

Manfred Schnelldorfer studied architecture at TH-München[3] but put his studies on hold for financial reasons.[1] A resident of Munich, he is married and has two children.

Career

Competitive

Schnelldorfer won his first competition at age eight. He was coached by his parents and skated for the Munich ERC club. Internationally, he represented the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Schnelldorfer finished second behind Hans-Jürgen Bäumler at the German Junior Championships. The following year, he won the German senior title while Bäumler finished fourth.

At age 20, he won the gold medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck,[2] became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions. His victory was a surprise. The favorite was Alain Calmat of France, who won the Europeans between 1962 and 1964 and was silver medalist at the 1963 Worlds.

In all, Schnelldorfer was an eight-time German champion, one-time World champion (1964), three-time bronze and two-time silver medalist at the Europeans.

Post-competitive

After his Olympic win, the Ice Capades offered Schnelldorfer a $1.5 million three-year contract but he declined because of a promise to his parents.[1] For two years beginning in 1967, he served as the sports director, officially "national coach", of the Deutsche Eislauf Union. After his parents gave their approval, he performed with the Deutsche Eistheater from 1969 to 1973.[1]

Schnelldorfer was also a pop singer (German: Schlagersänger) and actor before becoming a coach and sport teacher. He was the first West German national coach for figure skating between 1974 and 1981.

Schnelldorfer owns some sport shops.[1]

Songs

  • Wenn du mal allein bist (When you are once alone)
  • Deine schönen blauen Augen (Your beautiful blue eyes)
  • Mizzie

Films

  • Holiday in St. Tropez (1964)
  • Ich kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut (1965) (I prefer to buy a Tiroler hat)
  • Tausend Takte Übermut (1965) (Thousand takts high spirits)
  • Spukschloß im Salzkammergut (1966)
  • Komm mit zur blauen Adria (1966) (Come to the Blue Adriatic)

Competitive highlights

International
Event 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Olympics8th1st
WorldsWD11th15th7th5th3rd1st
Europeans10th10th7th7th5th3rd3rd3rd2nd2nd
National
German1st J2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st
J: Junior level; WD: Withdrew

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prieser, Uwe (3 May 2003). "Manfred Schnelldorfer zum sechzigsten: Mister Doppelaxel verzichtete auf die Million" [Manfred Schenlldorfer on his 60th birthday] (in German). Deutsche Eislauf Union. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006.
  2. 1 2 "Manfred Schnelldorfer". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  3. ↑ "Über meine Person" [About me] (in German). Official website of Manfred Schnelldorfer. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.