Alena Vrzáňová
Alena Vrzáňová | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Alena Vrzáňová | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Ája Zanová | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 16 May 1931|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 30 July 2015 New York City, US | (aged 84)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Czechoslovakia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skating club | VŠ Praha | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Alena "Ája" Vrzáňová (Czech pronunciation:
Early life
Vrzáňová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1931. In addition to figure skating, she also played piano and attended ballet school.[1]
Vrzáňová started sports at the age of three when her parents bought her skis. They spent each winter in the
Career
In 1946, Vrzáňová became the Czechoslovak junior national champion. In early 1947, she moved to Richmond, London to be coached by Arnold Gerschwiler.[1] In 1947, she won the Czechoslovak national championships and placed 7th at the 1947 World Figure Skating Championships.
Vrzáňová represented Czechoslovakia at the 1948 Winter Olympics. She placed fifth in the event, finishing behind compatriot Jiřina Nekolová.[2]
In 1949, Vrzáňová was awarded the silver medal at the European Championships in Milan and won her first World title in Paris. She seized her chance to win the gold medal as the Olympic runner-up and reigning European champion Eva Pawlik of Austria had dropped out because of a broken boot heel just before the free program.[3][4][5] At the event, she was credited as being the first woman to land a double Lutz jump.[6]
After winning the 1950 European Championships, she won a second world title at the 1950 World Championships. She then went on a European tour instead of returning home. She eventually moved to the United States and performed for the traveling show Ice Follies for three years under the name "Aja Zanova" before joining the Ice Capades. She also participated in television ads and other shows. After her husband's death, she worked for the Ice Capades and led New York City's largest public ice rink, the Wollman Rink.
Personal life
In February 1948 communists
In 1969, Vrzáňová married Czech-born innkeeper Pavel Steindler;[9] they adopted two children. They ran the Duck Joint restaurant in New York City, and later the Czech Pavilion. She died on 30 July 2015 at the age of 84 while living in New York City.[8][10]
Awards
Vrzáňová was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009.[6] In 2009, she also received the title of the Sports Legend of the Czech Republic. In 2012, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg presented to her the 16th annual Gratias Agit Awards in recognition of those who promote the good name of the Czech Republic abroad.[11]
Competitive highlights
International | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 |
Winter Olympics | 5th | ||||
World Champ. | 7th | 5th | 1st | 1st | |
European Champ. | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | |
National | |||||
Czechoslovak Champ. | 1st J. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
J. = Junior level |
References
- ^ a b c d Willoughby, Ian (5 July 2012). "Ája Vrzáňová-Steindler: Former ice skating world champion recalls 1950s defection – and much more". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ája Vrzáňová". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
Full name: Alena "Ája" Vrzáňová (-Zanová, -Steindler)
- ^ "Figure skating: "Favored to win, Eva Pawlik was forced to withdraw"", Life Magazine, 14 March 1949
- ^ Russell, Susan D. (January 2008), "Eva Pawlik and Rudi Seeliger", International Figure Skating Magazine
- ^ Hampe, Matthias (2010), The genesis of figure skating. Doctoral thesis at the Potsdam University, p. 218
- ^ a b Elliott, Helene (13 March 2009). "Brian Orser heads list of World Figure Skating Hall of Fame inductees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ a b Heller Anderson, Susan (4 April 1990). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ a b Fox, Margalit (1 August 2015). "Aja Zanova, Top Czech Skater Who Defected to West, Dies at 84". The New York Times.
- ^ "Západ hovoří s Ajou Vrzáňovou" [Západ interviews Aja Vrzanová] (PDF). Západ (in Czech). April 1980. pp. 18–22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2016.
- Česká televize(in Czech). 30 July 2015.
- ^ Richter, Jan (1 June 2012). "Foreign Ministry honours 12 people for promoting good name of Czech Republic". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012.
External links
- Alena Vrzanova at Olympics.com
- Ája Vrzáňová at Olympedia