Alena Vrzáňová

Alena Vrzáňová (IPA2|ˈalɛna ˈa:ja ˈvr̩za:ɲova:) (born May 16, 1931), also known as Ája Vrzáňová, and, after 1957, as Aja Zanova, is a former Czech figure skater. Vrzáňová is a two-time World Champion and 1950 European Champion.

Early life and training

Vrzáňová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1931. She started sports at the age of three when her parents bought her skis. They were spending each winter in the Krkonoše mountains. This tradition was interrupted during the Second World War, and then she started figure skating. The conditions for training were very difficult, as she had to train in early winter mornings. Her training sessions were held in darkness because of the dim-out regulations. The sessions took place in the open Štvanice Stadium before the sessions for hockey players, or in the CLTK club tennis courts, which were flooded with water and frozen.

Besides figure skating she also played piano and attended ballet school.

kating career

In 1946 she participated in the national championships and became junior champion that year. In 1946 autumn she traveled to the United Kingdom’s Richmond to be coached by Arnold Gerschwiler. He appeared to be one of the most influential persons in her career.

In 1947 Vrzáňová won Czechoslovak championships and finished seventh in the Worlds. After the communist party seized power in Czechoslovakia, the united sport leadership criticized Vrzáňová’s preparation in the United Kingdom. The Rudé právo daily published several very offensive articles. The next time she went to Richmond for training, the communist State Security was watching her.

Vrzáňová participated in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, finishing fifth behind compatriot Jiřina Nekolová with Barbara Ann Scott winning the gold medal.

In 1949 Vrzáňová won her first World Championships title in Paris, overcoming difficult circumstances – loss of her music records and having blunted the edge of her skate just before she skated.

She spent the winter of 1949 at home in Czechoslovakia, but her father advised her not to come back from the upcoming London World Championships; she agreed. After winning the European Championships in Oslo in 1950, she retained her world title in February. After this, she went on the European tour instead of going home. She was eventually offered political asylum. Her mother followed her in March under dramatic circumstances: her plane was hijacked. Her father, professional cello player, visited them several times, but never decided to join them leaving his country. She herself did not return to Prague till 1990. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D91738F937A35757C0A966958260 Chronicle] ]

In April Vrzáňová moved to the United States and performed for the traveling show Ice Follies for three years, as "Aja Zanova", then joined the Ice Capades. She also participated in television ads and other shows.

In 1969, she married Czech-born innkeeper Pavel Steindler; they adopted two children. They ran the Duck Joint restaurant in New York City, and later the Czech Pavilion, both popular among celebrities like Martina Navratilova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Miloš Forman and others.

After her husband’s death, she worked for the Ice Capades and led New York City’s largest public ice rink, the Wollman Rink.

References

Persondata
NAME=Vrzanova, Alena
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Czech figure skater
DATE OF BIRTH=1931-05-16
PLACE OF BIRTH=Prague, Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=