Eva Pawlik
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Eva Pawlik (4 October 1927 – 31 July 1983) was an Austrian
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
, show star, actress and commentator. She was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist, the 1948 World silver medalist, and the 1949 European champion.


Early life

Born in 1927, Pawlik was regarded as a child prodigy, able to jump a single Axel and do a large number of spins at the age of four. Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, she was considered an "exceptionally promising 9-year-old Viennese" figure skater in the United States. In Europe, she starred in "The Fairy Tale Of The Steady Tin Soldier" together with World champion Felix Kaspar. This legendary vaudeville number was internationally highly successful, being performed in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Munich, Bern, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lyon, Paris and London. Pawlik was called the "Shirley Temple on ice". In her teens she would get up at 4 a.m. daily to run to the
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
ice rink (Wiener Eislaufverein), for practice before going to school. Austrian skaters were impeded in the 1930s and 40s by the fact that there were no indoor skating halls and they were restricted to practicing in winter.
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's absorption of Austria in 1938 and World War II destroyed sportsmen's lives and careers. Pawlik, for example, was due to compete (aged 12) in the singles in the
1940 Winter Olympics The 1940 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and as Sapporo 1940 (札幌1940), was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 3 to 12 February 1940 in Sapporo, Empire of Japan. They were ultimately cancelled ...
, and in the pairs with her later husband Rudi Seeliger. However, they could only take part in domestic competitions, becoming German youth champions, both individually and as a pair team. In addition to that, they became the 1942 Austrian pairs champions (called Ostmark champions at that time due to the fact that Austria did not exist from 1938 to 1945). Drafted into the German Army, Rudi Seeliger was captured by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
and returned to Austria in 1949.


Competitive career

Pawlik´s coaches included the 1914 World silver medalist Angela Hanka, World champion Gustav Hügel, Rudolf Kutzer and Edi Scholdan.


1948 season

In 1947, Pawlik was rated best European skater and second in the world. However, Austrian skaters were barred from entering European and
World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...
competitions at that time. In 1948 she won three silver medals; at the Europeans, at the Olympics and at Worlds. Pawlik entered the 1948 European Championships as the favorite. Nevertheless, she finished second to non-European Barbara Ann Scott from
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. At the time, skaters from non-European countries could compete at the European Championships. In Sandra Stevenson's opinion, it was "not surprising that North Americans, whose skating activities had not been interrupted" during World War II, "should do well when the sport resumed in 1947. When Eva Pawlik of Austria unsuccessfully challenged Barbara Ann Scott in 1948 one reason given for her failure was that she skated with dirty boots and holes in her tights. The boots were so old that they no longer responded to cleaning and the holes were darned. It was the best she could manage with all the shortages in her country." In 1948, Pawlik performed in exhibition skating in the United States. She appeared together with U.S. Champion
Gretchen Merrill Gretchen Merrill (November 2, 1925 – April 22, 1965) was an American figure skater. Gretchen was a six-time (1943–1948) United States Figure Skating Championships, U.S. national champion and thrice placed second in 1941, 1942 and 1949. S ...
in the Broadmoor Ice Revue, produced by Edi Scholdan in Colorado Springs. She was also asked to appear in a movie starring
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
. He wanted to combine his dancing with her skating. She declined, as turning professional would have excluded her from the 1949 championships.


1949 season

In 1949, despite suffering acute
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
, Pawlik beat her rival Aja Zanova in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
to become European champion. In the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
held in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Pawlik was lying a close second behind Zanova when one of the heels on her skates broke. Sabotage was suspected, but never proven. The judges did not allow her to continue with borrowed skates and Zanova went on to win. Though having good chances to win the World title one year later, Pawlik decided to turn professional because her parents needed financial support.


Professional career

Pawlik joined the Vienna Ice Revue and performed a program that was considered by some journalists and figure skating experts to be technically and artistically slightly superior to the free skating of World champion Vrzáňová. Pawlik also played major parts in the productions of two movies featuring the Revue, ''Spring On The Ice'' (''Frühling auf dem Eis''), 1950, and ''Revue Of Dreams'' (''Traumrevue''), 1959. The first is said to have inspired the later double Olympic champion, Ludmilla Belousova, to take up skating. In 1952,
Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press Biography ...
dedicated his first ice operetta, ''Eternal Eve'' (''Die ewige Eva''), to Eva Pawlik. Morris Chalfen, the boss of the competitor enterprise Holiday On Ice, considered Pawlik Europe's best show star on the ice since the thrice Olympic champion
Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...
. Additionally, Pawlik and Seeliger had become one of the world's best professional pair teams. They left the Vienna Ice Revue in 1954 and starred in Hanns Thelen's Scala Eisrevue for some years. In 1958, they returned to the Vienna Ice Revue.


Later life

In 1961, Pawlik retired from skating and became the first European and the world's first female figure skater to become a TV figure skating commentator. She commentated all European and World Championships in figure skating and the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). In 1973, she began her third profession as a teacher of German and English at a Viennese secondary school (pupils from 10 to 18). In 1954, she earned her doctorate in German and English at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
."Degree No Barrier - Lady Doctor Skates To Fame - Dr. Eva Pawlik", in: New York World Telegram, 11.10.1960 In 1979, Pawlik became severely ill and died in 1983, four months after her husband.


Legacy

The exhibition "The Vienna Ice Revue. Austria's ambassador of the past" took place at the Bezirksmuseum Wien-Meidling from January to March 2008.


Results


Ladies' singles


Pairs with Seeliger


Filmography


References


Further reading

* Eva Pawlik, Autobiographical article in: Als ich 19 war (When I was 19 years old). Jugend&Volk 1981 * Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Ein verklungener Traum (The Vienna Ice Revue. A Dream That Has Faded Away). Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky 1993 * Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Einst Botschafterin Österreichs - heute Legende (The Vienna Ice Revue. Austria´s Ambassador Of The Past - Today´s Legend). Bezirksmuseum Wien-Meidling, 2008 * Ingrid Wendl, Eis mit Stil (Ice In A Proper Style). Jugend&Volk 1979 * Ingrid Wendl, Mein großer Bogen (My Great Arch). Böhlau 2002 * Isabella Lechner, Wienerinnen, die lesen, sind gefährlich (Viennese Women That Read Are Dangerous). Chapter "Eva Pawlik". Elisabeth Sandmann, Munich 2012 * Isabella Lechner, Die Wiener Eisrevue (The Vienna Ice Revue). Diploma thesis, University of Vienna, 2008


External links

*
Eva Pawlik Fanpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawlik, Eva 1927 births 1983 deaths Austrian female single skaters Olympic silver medalists for Austria Figure skaters at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Austria Figure skating commentators Austrian film actresses Actresses from Vienna Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from Vienna University of Vienna alumni 20th-century Austrian actresses