Kurt Oppelt 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

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

. He won the 1956 Olympics

1956 Winter Olympics

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

 pair skating

Pair skating

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...

 event with his partner Sissy Schwarz. They also won the World

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

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...

 titles that same year. They also won the Austrian National Championships from 1952 thru 1956.

Schwarz and Oppelt won the 1956 Olympic title. Their rivals, two-time world champions Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe, was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics.In 1991, she was made a Member of the Order of...

 and Norris Bowden

Norris Bowden

Robert Norris Bowden was a Canadian figure skater.Born in Toronto, Bowden won championships in every division of Canadian figure skating...

, faltered on a lift, causing them to finish after their music ended. The judging panel was split 6 to 3 in favor of Schwarz and Oppelt.

Oppelt also competed as a single skater. He placed 11th at the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

 and 11th at the 1953 Worlds.

Results

(singles)

Event	1951	1952	1953
Winter Olympics 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...		11th
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...			11th
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...			WD
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....	3rd	3rd	2nd

(pairs with Sissy Schwarz)

Event	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956
Winter Olympics 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...	9th				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...	7th	6th	3rd	2nd	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...	7th	3rd	2nd		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....	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st

External links

• Video clip of Schwartz and Oppelt at the 1956 Olympics
• Schwartz and Oppelt competition record at pairsonice.net

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