Ondrej Nepela

Ondrej Nepela

Nepela in 1972
Personal information
Country represented	Czechoslovakia
Born	22 January 1951(1951-01-22)
Died	2 February 1989(1989-02-02) (aged 38)
Former coach	Hilda Múdra
Retired	1973
Medal record Competitor for  Czechoslovakia Men's Figure skating Olympic Games Gold 1972 Sapporo Men's singles World Championships Gold 1973 Bratislava Men's singles Gold 1972 Calgary Men's singles Gold 1971 Lyon Men's singles Silver 1970 Ljubljana Men's singles Silver 1969 Colorado Springs Men's singles European Championships Gold 1973 Cologne Men's singles Gold 1972 Gothenburg Men's singles Gold 1971 Zürich Men's singles Gold 1970 Leningrad Men's singles Gold 1969 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Men's singles Bronze 1968 Västerås Men's singles Bronze 1967 Ljubljana Men's singles Bronze 1966 Bratislava Men's singles

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

Ondrej Nepela (22 January 1951 in Bratislava, Slovakia – 2 February 1989 in Mannheim, Germany) was an Olympic gold medalist and three-time World champion Slovak figure skater who competed for Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Career

Nepela began skating at age 7. He was coached by Hilda Múdra. His first major international competition, at age 13, was the 1964 Winter Olympics; he finished 22nd. He went on to win 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.

In his second autobiography, Toller Cranston details a sexual tryst between himself and Nepela at 1973 World Championships.^[1] Cranston was distracted and affected by their sexual affair and placed 5th while Nepela won the event and even earned a 6.0 during his free skate.

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. In December 2000, the Slovak Republic named him Slovakian athlete of the century. His former coach, Hilda Múdra, received the award on his behalf.

Results

Event	1963-64	1964-65	1965-66	1966-67	1967-68	1968-69	1969-70	1970-71	1971-72	1972-73
Winter Olympics	22nd				8th				1st
World Championships	17th		8th			2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st
European Championships		8th	3rd	3rd	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Czechoslovakian Championships		1st	1st	1st	1st	1st		1st	1st	1st
Prize of Moscow News				1st

References

1. ^ Cranston, Toller; Martha Lowder Kimball (2000). When Hell Freezes Over: Should I Bring My Skates?. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0771023375. 

• Ondrej Nepela Memorial
• Skatabase

Persondata
Name	Nepela, Ondrej
Alternative names
Short description	Slovak figure skater
Date of birth	22 January 1951
Place of birth	Bratislava
Date of death	2 February 1989
Place of death	Mannheim, Germany