It's really not an overstatement to say that one of the biggest misconceptions in figure skating history are how ISU Championships worked prior to World War II. More often than not, European Championships for different disciplines were held at different times in different countries. As the organization of these events was left largely to the host club or federation, it was extremely common for these events to consist of multiple competitions. Both women's and pairs events were indeed held prior to the first ones that the ISU recognized, as were valsing (waltzing) competitions. These records not only paint a more accurate picture of these competitions, but shed further light on some of the careers of the top skaters of the early twentieth century.
Hamburg, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Oskar Uhlig |
A. Schmitson |
Franz Zilly |
1892
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Eduard Engelmann Jr. |
Tibor von Földváry |
Georg Zachariades |
Junior Men |
Gustav Hügel |
Emil Ritter von Meissner |
(no other competitors) |
1893
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Eduard Engelmann Jr. |
Tibor von Földváry |
Georg Zachariades |
In 1895, the ISU nullified the results of this competition. An account of this event in the February 4, 1893 issue of "The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News" noted, "E. Engelmann was the most graceful skater, but on the judges' cards being examined it was noted that there was a fractionally larger vote for H. Grenander. A further examination, however, showed that there were serious errors on the part of some of the judges, and Mr. [W.J.H.] Mulier, on behalf of the International Skating Union, refused to allow the prizes to be awarded, and has reported the whole matter to the general committee of the Union."
1894
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Eduard Engelmann Jr. |
Gustav Hügel |
Tibor von Földváry |
Pairs |
Christine Engelmann and Karl Euler |
Mizzi Beck and Ludwig Fänner |
Sofie Reininger and M. Deuerling |
Junior Men |
Emil Ritter von Meissner |
Josef Fellner |
S. Brauner |
1895
Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Tibor von Földváry |
Gustav Hügel |
Gilbert Fuchs |
Pairs |
Christine Engelmann and Karl Euler |
Carla Edle von Nagy-Búkk and Otto Schwarz |
Mizzi Beck and Ludwig Fänner |
1898
Trondheim, Norway
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Johan Peter Lefstad |
Oscar Holthe |
1899
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Gustav Hügel |
Ernst Fellner |
1900
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Gustav Hügel |
Oscar Holthe |
Pairs |
Mizzi and Otto Bohatsch |
Madge Cave and Edgar Syers |
Else Neubeck and Gustav Stahlberg |
Same-Sex Pairs |
Karl and Gustav Euler |
Egon Robitsek and Adolph Kleeman |
Gustav Feix and Anton Steiner |
Men (International) |
Oscar Holthe |
Joseph Weiss |
Richard Meidinger |
Junior Men |
Edgar Syers |
Anton Steiner |
(no other competitors) |
Men "for the honorary award of the imperial capital and residence in the city of Vienna" |
Gustav Euler |
Alfred Klement |
Max Bohatsch |
1901
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Gustav Hügel |
Gilbert Fuchs |
Ulrich Salchow |
Same-Sex Pairs |
Carl and Gustav Euler |
Wilhelm Weißmandl and Mony Kleeman |
Egon Robitsek and Adolph Kleeman |
Men (Internationales Reulings-Kunstlaufen) |
Adolph Kleeman |
Robert** |
Leo Geiger |
Men (Der Preis der Stadt Wein) |
Max Bohatsch |
Anton Steiner |
Martin Gordan |
**The January 14, 1901 issue of the "Neues Wiener Tagblatt" noted that "Robert", the second-place finisher in the Internationales Reulings-Kunstlaufen event, was competing under a pseudonym.
1904
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Max Bohatsch |
Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin |
Pairs |
Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Gustav Euler |
Madge and Edgar Syers |
Phyllis Squire and James Henry Johnson |
1905
Bonn, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Max Bohatsch |
Heinrich Burger |
Karl Zenger |
Pairs |
Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger |
Frieda Bellinger and Franz Zilly |
Fraulein Holbe and K. Nietz |
Junior Men |
Karl Schmidt |
K. Nietz |
Dr. H. Rüdiger |
Junior Women |
Anna Hübler |
Fraulein Holbe |
(no other competitors) |
1906
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Ernst Herz |
Per Thorén
|
Women (World Championships) |
Madge Syers |
Jenny Herz |
Lili Kronberger |
Pairs |
Madge and Edgar Syers |
Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger |
Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson |
Women (Internationales Damenlaufen) |
Elsa Rendschmidt |
Jenny Herz |
Anna Hübler |
1907
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Gilbert Fuchs |
Ernst Herz |
Women |
Elsa Rendschmidt |
Phyllis (Squire) Johnson |
Anna Hübler |
Pairs |
Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger |
Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson |
(no other competitors) |
Men (Senior) |
Gustav Schöning
|
Karl Ollo |
Max Rendschmidt |
Men (Junior) |
Alois Wilschek |
Herr Gutleben |
Adolf Schmidt |
1908
Warsaw, Poland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Max Bohatsch |
Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin |
Men (Senior) |
Karl Ollo |
Fedor Datlin |
B. Wrobel |
1909
Budapest, Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Gilbert Fuchs |
Per Thorén |
Women (World Championships) |
Lili Kronberger |
(no other competitors) |
(no other competitors) |
Pairs |
Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger |
Helene Kuich and Karl Mejstrik |
Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson |
Men (International Senior Herrenkunst) |
Andor Szende |
Walter Jakobsson |
Ludwig Richard |
Women (International Senior Damenkunst) |
Jenny Herz |
Elsa Rendschmidt |
Zsófia Méray-Horváth |
Junior Men |
Robert Sander |
George Müller |
B. Wrobel |
Junior Women |
Helene Fräter |
Hedwig Müller |
Hermine Proschel-Kunz |
1910
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Werner Rittberger |
Per Thorén |
Women |
Elsa Rendschmidt |
Fraulein Sonder |
(no other competitors) |
Pairs |
Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson |
Fraulein and Robert Sonder |
Else and Heinrich Weber |
Men (Senior) |
Fritz Kachler |
Harald Rooth |
Harry Paulsen |
Junior Men |
Louis Magnus |
Herr Zollner |
Herr Bomhardt |
Junior Women |
Ludovika Eilers |
Fraulein Sonder |
Grete Strasilla |
1911
St. Petersburg, Russia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Per Thorén |
Karl Ollo |
Werner Rittberger |
Women |
Ludovika Eilers |
Xenia Caesar |
Lidia Popova |
Pairs |
Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson |
(not recorded) |
(not recorded) |
1912
Stockholm, Sweden
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Gösta Sandahl |
Ivan Malinin |
Martin Stixrud |
1913
Oslo, Norway
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Ulrich Salchow |
Andor Szende |
Willy Böckl |
Women |
Margit Johansen |
Astrid Nordsveen |
Eva Lindahl |
Pairs |
Alexia Schøien and Yngvar Bryn |
Solveig Andersen and Arthur Johannessen |
Herr and Fraulein Jensen |
1914
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Fritz Kachler |
Andreas Krogh |
Willy Böckl |
Women |
Gisela Reichmann |
Paula Zalaudek |
(no other competitors) |
Pairs |
Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Leo Horwitz |
Helene Engelmann and Karl Mejstrik |
(no other competitors) |
Men (Preis de Wiener Eislaufverein) |
Ernst Oppacher |
Erwin Schwarzböck |
Josef Oppacher |
1922
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Fritz Kachler |
Ernst Oppacher |
1923
Oslo, Norway
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Martin Stixrud |
Gunnar Jakobsson |
Women |
Herma Szabo |
Margot Moe |
Ingrid Guldbransen |
Pairs (World Championships) |
Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson |
Alexia and Yngvar Bryn |
Elna Henrikson and Kaj af Ekström |
1924
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Fritz Kachler |
Ludwig Wrede |
Werner Rittberger |
1925
Triberg, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Werner Rittberger |
Otto Preißecker |
Women |
Hildegard Thiel |
Elisabeth Böckel |
Käthe Wulff |
Men (International) |
Hugo Distler |
Fritz Schober |
Karl Kronfuss |
Junior Men |
Karl Kronfuss |
Ernst Baier |
Herr Strebel |
1926
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Otto Preißecker |
Georges Gautschi |
Pairs |
Gisela Hochhaltinger and Georg Pamperl |
Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page |
Hertha Trauzl and Heinrich Schrepfer |
1927
Vienna, Austria
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Hugo Distler |
Karl Schäfer |
Women |
Herma Szabo |
Fritzi Burger |
Melitta Brunner |
Pairs (World Championships) |
Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede |
Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser |
Liesl and Oscar Hoppe |
Men (international senior) |
Herbert Haertel |
(no other competitors) |
(no other competitors) |
Waltzing |
Minna Klingel and Willy Petter |
(no other competitors) |
(no other competitors) |
1928
Troppau, Czechoslovakia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Willy Böckl |
Karl Schäfer |
Otto Preißecker |
Women |
Melitta Brunner |
Edith Hecht |
Gerda Hornung |
Pairs |
Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede |
Else and Oscar Hoppe |
Emília Rotter and László Szollás |
1929
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Georges Gautschi |
Ludwig Wrede |
Women |
Melitta Brunner |
Ilse Hornung |
Else Flebbe |
Pairs |
Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser |
Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede |
Gisela Hochhaltinger and Otto Preißecker |
1930
Štrbské Pleso, Czechoslovakia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Josef Slíva |
Karl Schäfer |
Otto Gold |
Due to judging irregularities, the results of this competition were nullified. A second competition was held in Berlin, Germany.
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Otto Gold |
Markus Nikkanen |
Women |
Fritzi Burger |
Vivi-Anne Hultén |
Ilse Hornung |
Pairs |
Emília Rotter and László Szollás |
Ilse Kishauer and Ernst Gaste |
Else and Oscar Hoppe |
Vienna, Austria
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Women* |
Fritzi Burger |
Ilse Hornung |
Vivi-Anne Hultén |
Pairs* |
Olga Orgonista and Sándor Szalay |
Emília Rotter and László Szollás |
Gisela Hochhaltinger and Otto Preißecker |
1931
Vienna, Austria
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Ernst Baier |
Hugo Distler |
Women (Internationales Damen-Kunstlaufen um den Wanderpreis des Vereines Kunsteisbahn am Sportsplatz Engelmann) |
Ilse Hornung |
Helga Schrittwieser-Dietz |
Olly Holzmann |
Pairs |
Idi Papez and Karl Zwack |
Gitta Rimmel and Adolf Rosdol |
Ridi and Pepo Jauernigg |
St. Moritz, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men |
Hugo Distler |
Marcell Vadas |
Ernst Baier |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Fritzi Burger |
Hilde Holovsky |
Pairs* |
Olga Orgonista and Sándor Szalay |
Emília Rotter and László Szollás |
Lilly Gaillard and Willy Petter |
Junior Men |
Erich Erdös |
Leslie White |
Richard Hammer |
Junior Women |
Liselotte Landbeck |
Megan Taylor |
Olly Holzmann |
1932
Paris, France
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Ernst Baier |
Erich Erdös |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Fritzi Burger |
Vivi-Anne Hultén |
Pairs* |
Andrée (Joly) and Pierre Brunet |
Lilly (Scholz) Gaillard and Willy Petter |
Idi Papez and Karl Zwack |
1933
London, England
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Ernst Baier |
Erich Erdös |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Cecilia Colledge |
Fritzi Burger |
Pairs* |
Idi Papez and Karl Zwack |
Lilly (Scholz) Gaillard and Willy Petter |
Mollie Phillips and Rodney Murdoch |
Waltzing |
Ethel Muckelt and Ronald D. Gilbey |
Violet Supple and Leslie Cliff |
Betty Meakin and Jack Dunn |
1934
Seefeld, Austria
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Dénes Pataky |
Elemér Terták |
Women |
Liselotte Landbeck |
Grete Lainer |
Helga Schrittwieser-Dietz |
Pairs |
Herta Baumgartner and Rolf Stillebacher |
Fraulein Tusak and Herr Ballazs |
Mlle. Hauser and Erwin Keller |
Men (Senior) |
T.C. Patrick Low |
Emil Ratzenhofer |
Ernst Fenner |
Junior Women |
Emmy Puzinger |
Hertha Dexler |
Bianca Schenk |
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Liselotte Landbeck |
Maribel Vinson |
Pairs* |
Emília Rotter and László Szollás |
Idi Papez and Karl Zwack |
Zofia Bilorówna and Tadeusz Kowalski |
1935
St. Moritz, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Felix Kaspar |
Ernst Baier |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Liselotte Landbeck |
Cecilia Colledge |
Pairs* |
Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier |
Idi Papez and Karl Zwack |
Lucy Gallo and Rezső Dillinger |
Junior Men |
Herbert Alward |
Gunther Lorenz |
(no other competitors) |
Junior Women |
Maria Schweinburg |
Angela Anderes |
Daphne Walker |
1936
Berlin, Germany
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Karl Schäfer |
Henry Graham Sharp |
Ernst Baier |
Women* |
Sonja Henie |
Cecilia Colledge |
Megan Taylor |
Pairs* |
Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier |
Violet (Supple) and Leslie Cliff |
Piroska and Attila Szekrényessy |
1937
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Felix Kaspar |
Henry Graham Sharp |
Elemér Terták |
Women* |
Cecilia Colledge |
Megan Taylor |
Emmy Puzinger |
Pairs* |
Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier |
Ilse and Erich Pausin |
Piroska and Attila Szekrényessy |
1938
St. Moritz, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Felix Kaspar |
Henry Graham Sharp |
Herbert Alward |
Women* |
Cecilia Colledge |
Megan Taylor |
Emmy Puzinger |
Pairs |
Inge Koch and Günther Noack |
Violet (Supple) and Leslie Cliff |
Pierrette and Paul Du Bois |
Troppau, Czechoslovakia
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Pairs* |
Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier |
Ilse and Erich Pausin |
Inge Koch and Günther Noack |
Junior Men |
Elemér Terták |
Emil Ratzenhofer |
Ferenc Kertesz |
Junior Women |
Nadine Szilassy |
Lilly König |
Anna Pollack |
1939
Davos, Switzerland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Men* |
Henry Graham Sharp |
Freddie Tomlins |
Horst Faber |
London, England
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Women* |
Cecilia Colledge |
Megan Taylor |
Daphne Walker |
British Junior Men |
Dennis Silverthorne |
Adrian Pryce-Jones |
Peter J. Scholes |
British Junior Women |
Elizabeth M. Whittington |
Winnie Silverthorne |
K. Everard |
Zakopane, Poland
Category |
Winner |
2nd |
3rd |
Pairs* |
Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier |
Ilse and Erich Pausin |
Inge Koch and Günther Noack |
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