Günter Zöller (born 21 May 1948) is a German

figure skating 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 Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

coach and former competitor for

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. He is the 1970 World bronze medalist, the 1970 European bronze medalist, a five-time

Blue Swords Blue Swords () is an international figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union. It is usually held in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of Single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair ...

champion, and a five-time East German national champion.

Personal life

Günter Zöller was born 21 May 1948 in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

Career

Zöller began figure skating as a child. Coached by Jutta Müller, he represented the club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt and

. Zöller debuted at the European Championships in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and finished 19th. In 1965, he won his first East German national title and was sent to the 1965 European Championships, where he placed 12th. He then competed at his first

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 ...

, placing 18th. In 1967, after winning his second national title, Zöller advanced to seventh at

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

and 11th at Worlds. He was sent to the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

and finished 11th. The 1969–70 season was Zöller's most successful. After winning his fifth national title, he was awarded bronze medals at the 1970 European Championships in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and the 1970 World Championships in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. An injury kept him out of competition the following season. Zöller traveled with the East German team to the 1972 European Championships in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden but did not compete, choosing to defect before the start of the event. On 10 January 1972, he obtained an

alien's passport A certificate of identity, sometimes called an alien's passport, is a travel document issued by a country to non-citizens (also called aliens) residing within their borders who are stateless persons or otherwise unable to obtain a passport f ...

at the West German embassy in Sweden and boarded a ferry to

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. He coached in

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

before relocating to

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

in 1974. His former students include Claudia Leistner, Rudi Cerne, Stefan Pfrengle, Manuela Ruben, Petra Ernert, and

Nathalie Weinzierl Nathalie Weinzierl (born 8 April 1994) is a former competitive German figure skater. She is a two-time German national champion (2014, 2017) and has won eleven senior international medals, including gold at the Bavarian Open, Dragon Trophy, and ...

Results

References

* ISU statistics * various issues o
''Eissportmagazin''
* various issues o
''Pirouette'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoller, Gunter 1948 births Figure skaters at the 1968 Winter Olympics German figure skating coaches German male single skaters Living people Olympic figure skaters for East Germany East German male figure skaters Figure skaters from Chemnitz World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Defecting sportspeople from East Germany Sportspeople from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt East German emigrants to West Germany SC Karl-Marx-Stadt sportspeople