Paul Falk
Born(1921-12-21)21 December 1921
Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Died20 May 2017(2017-05-20) (aged 95)
Queidersbach, Germany
Figure skating career
Country West Germany
Retired1952
Medal record
Representing  West Germany
Pairs' Figure skating
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Oslo Pairs
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1951 MilanPairs
Gold medal – first place 1952 ParisPairs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1951 ZürichPairs
Gold medal – first place 1952 ViennaPairs

Paul Falk (German pronunciation: [paʊ̯l ˈfalk] ⓘ; 21 December 1921 – 20 May 2017) was a German pair skater. Born in Dortmund, Germany, he skated with Ria Baran and became two-time World champion and 1952 Olympic champion. Baran and Falk married during their active international figure skating.[1]

The pair skated for the club Düsseldorfer EG and had no coach. Until 1951 Baran and Falk were not able to participate in international competitions because Germany was excluded from international sport after World War II. They were the first couple who performed side by side double jumps and they also invented the Lasso-Lift. Baran and Falk were never defeated in amateur competition.

In 1951 Falk was voted the male athlete of the year in Germany. After winning the Olympics in 1952 they turned professional and worked for Holiday on Ice. Falk's profession outside athletics was as a precision mechanic. In 1993 pair were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.[2] He died 8+1⁄2 months before Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot won the gold medal for pairs skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[1]

Results

(pairs with Ria Baran)

Event 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952
Winter Olympic Games1st
World Championships1st1st
European Championships1st1st
German Championships1st1st1st1st1st1st

References

  1. 1 2 "Paul Falk Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Hines, James R. (2011). Historical dictionary of figure skating. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810868595.


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