The Most Famous

SKATERS from Austria

This page contains a list of the greatest Austrian Skaters. The pantheon dataset contains 483 Skaters, 16 of which were born in Austria. This makes Austria the birth place of the 10th most number of Skaters behind China, and South Korea.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Austrian Skaters of all time. This list of famous Austrian Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Austrian Skaters.

1. Karl Schäfer (1909 - 1976)

With an HPI of 60.03, Karl Schäfer is the most famous Austrian Skater. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Karl Schäfer (17 May 1909 – 23 April 1976) was an Austrian figure skater and swimmer. In figure skating, he became a two-time Olympic champion at the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics. He was also a seven-time World champion (1930–1936) and eight-time European champion (1929–1936). As a swimmer, he competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the 200 metre breaststroke.

2. Helene Engelmann (1898 - 1985)

With an HPI of 57.80, Helene Engelmann is the 2nd most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Helene Engelmann (later Jaroschka, 9 February 1898 – 1 August 1985) was an Austrian pair skater. With Alfred Berger, she became the 1924 Olympic champion and a two-time world champion. She also won a world title with Karl Mejstrik.

3. Alfred Berger (1894 - 1966)

With an HPI of 57.56, Alfred Berger is the 3rd most famous Austrian Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Alfred Berger (25 August 1894 – 11 June 1966) was an Austrian pair skater. With his skating partner, Helene Engelmann, he became the 1924 Olympic champion and a two-time world champion (1922, 1924).

4. Willy Böckl (1893 - 1975)

With an HPI of 57.09, Willy Böckl is the 4th most famous Austrian Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Willy Böckl (27 January 1893 – 22 April 1975) was an Austrian figure skater. He won the World Figure Skating Championships four times and captured two silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and he also won six European Championship titles. After the end of World War I, beginning in 1922, he won the European championships six times, except for 1924, when he did not compete. Also in 1922, he came in third place at the World Championships. He came in second place at the 1923 and 1924 World Championships, and then between 1925 and 1928, won the next four Worlds. He earned two silver medals at the Olympics in 1924 and 1928, both behind Swedish skater Gillis Grafström. He defeated Grafström in the free skating portion at the 1924 Olympics. The invention of the inside Axel jump (an Axel jump taking off from an inside edge rather than the normal outside edge) has been credited to Böckl and called the "Böckl jump". After retiring from skating, he moved to the United States and became a coach at the Skating Club of New York. In 1937, he published an illustrated instructional book, Willy Boeckl on Figure Skating, which included descriptions of compulsory figures and free skating, but also included chapters on pair skating, ice dance, and carnival (ice show) skating. He published a second book in 1940, How to Judge Figure Skating, which was primarily about judging compulsory figures. In 1938, Willy Boeckl (the spelling was changed sometime after he arrived in the United States) was one of thirteen prominent figure skating instructors from the United States and Canada, who met in Lake Placid, New York, for the purpose of forming an association of figure skating instructors. This distinguished group became known as the American Skaters Guild (the name was later changed to the Professional Skaters Guild of America in 1950, and again to the current name of the Professional Skaters Association). Willy became the first president of the guild; Willie Frick its first vice-president, and Walter Arian, second vice-president. He announced a retirement from coaching in 1944 to work as president of a tire company. Boeckl continued to be involved in skating and lead an ice show tour in Europe in 1953. After retiring, Boeckl moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Following the death of his wife, he returned to Austria, where he died in 1975. He was elected into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1977.

5. Herma Szabo (1902 - 1986)

With an HPI of 56.54, Herma Szabo is the 5th most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Herma Szabo (22 February 1902 – 7 May 1986) was an Austrian figure skater who competed in ladies' singles and pairs. As a single skater, she became the 1924 Olympic champion and a five-time world champion (1922–1926). She also won two world titles in pairs with Ludwig Wrede.

6. Otto Kaiser (1901 - 1977)

With an HPI of 56.06, Otto Kaiser is the 6th most famous Austrian Skater. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Otto Kaiser (8 May 1901 – 7 June 1977) was an Austrian pair skater. Competing in partnership with Lilly Scholz, he became the 1928 Olympic silver medalist and 1929 World champion. The pair won the bronze medal at Worlds in 1925 and silver from 1926 through 1928.

7. Trixi Schuba (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 55.64, Trixi Schuba is the 7th most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Beatrix "Trixi" Schuba (born 15 April 1951) is an Austrian former competitive figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She is a six-time Austrian national champion (1967–1972), a two-time European champion (1971 and 1972), a two-time World champion (1971 and 1972), and 1972 Olympic champion. She is considered to be one of the best compulsory figure skaters ever.

8. Fritzi Burger (1910 - 1999)

With an HPI of 54.92, Fritzi Burger is the 8th most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Friederike "Fritzi" Burger (6 June 1910 – 16 February 1999) was an Austrian figure skater. She was a two-time Olympic silver medalist (1928, 1932), a four-time World medalist (silver in 1929 and 1932, bronze in 1928 and 1931), the 1930 European champion, and a four-time Austrian national champion (1928–1931).

9. Sissy Schwarz (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 54.80, Sissy Schwarz is the 9th most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Elisabeth "Sissy" Schwarz (born 19 May 1936) is an Austrian former figure skater who is best known for her career in pair skating. With Kurt Oppelt, she is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1956 World champion, the 1956 European champion, and a five-time Austrian national champion (1952–56).

10. Lilly Scholz (1903 - 1994)

With an HPI of 54.53, Lilly Scholz is the 10th most famous Austrian Skater. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Lilly Scholz, married name Gaillard, (18 April 1903 – 14 December 1994) was an Austrian pair skater. Competing in partnership with Otto Kaiser, she became the 1928 Olympic silver medalist and 1929 World champion. The pair won the bronze medal at Worlds in 1925 and silver from 1926 through 1928. Scholz later competed with Willy Petter and won three European medals.

People

Pantheon has 16 people classified as Austrian skaters born between 1893 and 1951. Of these 16, 4 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Austrian skaters include Trixi Schuba, Sissy Schwarz, and Wolfgang Schwarz. The most famous deceased Austrian skaters include Karl Schäfer, Helene Engelmann, and Alfred Berger. As of April 2024, 2 new Austrian skaters have been added to Pantheon including Melitta Brunner, and Regine Heitzer.