Hans Gerschwiler (21 June 1920 – 27 September 2017) was a Swiss figure skater. He was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist

Career

Gerschwiler made his international debut at the 1939 European Championships, where he placed 5th. Between 1939 and 1947, no international skating competitions were held, due to

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 ...

. Gerschwiler had been living in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

with his uncle and coach Jacques Gerschwiler when the war broke out. When his uncle was called home to Switzerland, Gerschwiler stayed with Cecilia Colledge's family. He spent the war years working as a factory worker and fire watcher and was able to practice skating only once a week. Following the War, Gerschwiler emerged as one of the dominant skaters of the time. Gerschwiler won the 1947

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

and

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ...

. He also won the silver medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz and came in second at the 1948 European Championships, both time finishing behind Dick Button. He was coached by his uncle Arnold Gerschwiler. Gerschwiler was considered to be a beautiful free-skater and one of the best school-skaters in the world at the time. He turned professional after the 1948 Winter Olympics. Until Stéphane Lambiel won his first world title in 2005, Gerschwiler was the only Swiss man ever to have been World Champion. He and Lambiel are the only Swiss figure skaters ever to have won a silver medal at the Olympics. The only other Swiss skater to medal at the Olympics was Georges Gautschi who won bronze in 1924. Following Lambiel's win in 2005, Gerschwiler sent him a congratulatory message.

Results

References

Skatabase: 1930s Europeans

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerschwiler, Hans 1921 births 2017 deaths Swiss male single skaters Figure skaters at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Switzerland Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Winterthur Sportspeople from the canton of Zürich 20th-century Swiss sportsmen