Karl Schäfer was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n figure skater

Single skating

Single skating is a discipline of figure skating, wherein a single person skates alone. Men's singles and ladies' singles are both Olympic disciplines and are both governed by the International Skating Union. The other Olympic figure skating events are pair skating and ice dancing...

 and swimmer. In figure skating, he was a dual Olympic Champion at the 1932 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics

At the 1932 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. The competitions were held from Monday, February 8, 1932 to Friday, February 12, 1932...

 and the 1936 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics

At the 1936 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. The competitions were held from Sunday February 9, 1936 to Saturday February 15, 1936.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:...

, a seven-time World Champion

World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

 (1930–1936) and the eight-time European Champion

European Figure Skating Championships

The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...

 (1929–1930). As a swimmer, he competed in the breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

 and competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

 in that event

Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908...

.

Biography

Karl Schäfer was born not far from the artificial ice rink of Eduard Engelmann Jr.

Eduard Engelmann Jr.

Eduard Engelmann Jr. was an Austrian figure skater, engineer, and cyclist. He was a three-time gold medallist at the European Figure Skating Championships...

 in Vienna-Hernals

Hernals

Hernals is the 17th district of Vienna, Austria .Hernals is in northwest Vienna.It was annexed in 1892 out of the townships of Hernals, Dornbach, and Neuwaldegg.- Geography :...

. When he was 11 years old, the figure skating coach Rudolf Kutzer first recognized his talent. In 1923 he participated in an ice show in Hernals as "Rosenkavalier".

As a figure skater, he won 10 consecutive medals at the World Figure Skating Championships

World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

 and the European Figure Skating Championships

European Figure Skating Championships

The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...

, including 7 and 8 consecutive gold medals respectively, which are all-time high consecutive title records for both competitions (Ulrich Salchow

Ulrich Salchow

Karl Emil Julius Ulrich Salchow was a Swedish figure skater, who dominated the sport in the first decade of the 20th century....

 of Sweden holds records for all-time non-consecutive titles, 10 at the World Championships and 9 at the European Championships). He competed at the 1928 Winter Olympics

1928 Winter Olympics

The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 11–19, 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The 1928 Games were the first true Winter Olympics held on its own as they were not in conjunction with a Summer Olympics...

 and placed 4th. He won back to back Olympic titles in men's singles at the 1932 Winter Olympics

1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1932 in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It would be the first winter olympics held in the United...

 and the 1936 Winter Olympics

1936 Winter Olympics

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. Germany also hosted the Summer Olympics the same year in Berlin...

.

Schäfer was talented in other ways as well. He played the violin very well, and was also Austrian breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

 champion several times. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

 and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 200 metre breaststroke event

Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Men's 200 metre breaststroke

The men's 200 metre breaststroke was a swimming event held as part of the swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which was established in 1908...

.

He retired from competitive skating in 1936. He moved for a couple of years to the United States and worked there as a coach. In 1938 he opened a sport store in Vienna. In 1940 he and Herta Wächter (also a figure skating coach) founded the "Karl-Schäfer-Eisrevue" (Karl Schäfer Ice Revue).

In 1943 he became an actor and was the star of the movie "Der weiße Traum" (The White Dream), which was produced on Engelmann's ice rink in Vienna-Hernals.

After the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Schäfer participated in rebuilding the Engelmann's ice rink, and from 1946 on he coached young skaters there.

Between 1956 and 1962 he moved again to the U.S. to work as a figure skating coach. From 1962 he returned as a coach to Vienna-Hernals and lived and worked there until he died.

He was married to Christine Engelmann, the youngest daughter of Eduard Engelmann Jr. He was the brother-in-law of Helene Engelmann

Helene Engelmann

Helene Engelmann was an Austrian pair skater....

.

The Karl Schäfer Memorial

Karl Schäfer Memorial

The Karl Schäfer Memorial is an annual elite senior-level figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition is named for figure skater Karl Schäfer. The competition is usually held in...

 is a figure skating competition named after him that is held semi-annually in Vienna.

Figure skating

Event	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936
Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...		4th				1st				1st
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Austrian Championships Austrian Figure Skating Championships The Austrian Figure Skating Championships are a figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of Austria. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st		1st

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