Ondrej Nepela

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olympic medal record
Figure skating
Gold 1972 Sapporo Men's singles

Ondrej Nepela (born January 22, 1951 in Bratislava, Slovakia, died February 2, 1989 in Mannheim, Germany) was a Slovak figure skater who competed for Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Nepela began skating at age 7. He was coached by Hilda Mudra. His first major international competition, at age 13, was the 1964 Winter Olympics; he finished 22nd. He went on to win five the European Figure Skating Championships five times between 1969 to 1973); the World Figure Skating Championships in 1971, 1972, and 1973; and the 1972 Winter Olympics. Nepela wanted to retire from competition after the 1972 season, but agreed to continue one more year because the 1973 World Figure Skating Championships were to be held in his home town of Bratislava.

Following his amateur skating career, Nepela toured for 13 years as a soloist with Holiday on Ice. He then established himself as a coach in Germany. He coached Claudia Leistner to her European title in 1989.

Nepela died of AIDS-related complications in 1989, at the age of 38. Since 1993, the Slovak Figure Skating Association has held a competition each fall called the Ondrej Nepela Memorial.

[edit] Competitive highlights

  • Olympic champion (1972)
  • Three-time World champion (1971-1973)
  • Five-time European champion (1969-1973)

[edit] Navigation


[edit] References

Persondata
NAME Nepela, Ondrej
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Slovak figure skater
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Bratislava
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 1989
PLACE OF DEATH Mannheim, Germany
In other languages