Karl Schäfer
| Karl Schäfer | |
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Karl Schäfer with Sonja Henie.
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Karl Schäfer |
| Country represented | Austria |
| Born |
17 May 1909 Vienna |
| Died | 23 April 1976 (aged 66) Vienna |
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Medal record
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Karl Schäfer (17 May 1909, in Vienna – 23 April 1976, in Vienna) 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 (1929–1930). As a swimmer, he competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the 200 metre breakstroke.
Karl Schäfer was born not far from the artificial ice rink of Eduard Engelmann Jr. in Vienna-Hernals. Figure skating coach Rudolf Kutzer first recognized Schäfer's talent when he was 11 years old.
Schäfer won ten consecutive medals at the World Championships and European Championships, including seven and eight consecutive gold medals respectively, an all-time high for consecutive titles in both competitions (Sweden's Ulrich Salchow holds the record for all-time non-consecutive titles, ten World and nine European titles). He competed at the 1928 Winter Olympics and placed 4th. He won back-to-back Olympic titles in men's singles at the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics.
Schäfer retired from competitive skating in 1936. He moved for a couple of years to the United States, where he worked 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, Schäfer 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.
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