Gillis Grafström
Gillis Grafström Emanuel ( born June 7, 1893 in Stockholm, † April 14, 1938 in Potsdam) was a Swedish figure skater, who started in a single run. He is the Olympic champion of 1920, 1924 and 1928 and the world champion in 1922, 1924 and 1929.
Career
In his first Olympic Games in Antwerp he broke a skate blade. This could not be replaced on site. Then he had to go into town and bought a pair of old-fashioned skates. He won anyway. Four years later, he defended his title in Chamonix just ahead of his toughest competitors Willy Böckl. He won the obligation, subject Böckl but in the freestyle. 1928 in St. Moritz, he won his third consecutive Olympic gold medal. Again, the discussions led to clash with Böckl. Despite a knee injury he could beat Böckl both the duty as well as the freestyle, but extremely scarce. To date, Grafström with three Olympic victories record holder in the figure skating men's competition. In his final 1932 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, he collided on the ice with a photographer and was second behind Karl Schäfer. This is the most successful figure skaters Grafström in Olympic history and the only figure skater who could win four medals at the Olympic Games.
1914 Grafström had first participated in a World Cup, finishing in seventh place. From 1915 to 1921 due to the First World War, no World Championships were held. At the first World Cup after this break was Grafström in Stockholm World Champion in front of Fritz Kachler. Only twice he took because of his profession as an architect in Berlin after that at world championships: 1924 in Manchester and 1929 in London. He was both times world champion, just before Willy Böckl and then before Karl Schäfer. Grafström never participated in a European Championship.
Grafström was one of the best duty runners ever. He also created the Grafström Pirouette ( on the back outside edge of the blade rotated ), the eingesprungene sit spin and jumped the first to Axel Paulsen (jump in figure skating ) really sure. He was considered extremely elegant runner with enormous music feeling. He also coached Sonja Henie.
From 1925 until his death lived Gillis Grafström in Potsdam. He trained here on the Bornstedter See, if that was frozen over, or in Berlin at the skating rink in the public park Friedrichshain. In 1929 he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal -.
Grafström studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin and worked as an architect. He collected graphics, paintings and sculptures on the theme ice skating and also worked as a writer, painter and graphic artist.
On February 9, 1938 Gillis Grafström married in Potsdam Cécile, born Mendelssohn Bartholdy, divorced Oppenheim ( 1898-1995 ), daughter of the banker Otto von Mendelssohn. Two months later he died, 44 years old, from blood poisoning and was buried in the cemetery Bornstedter in Potsdam. His widow continued his collection continued on the subject of ice skating. Today, this collection is in the World Figure Skating Museum (World Figure Skating Museum ) in Colorado Springs in the USA.
After Grafström is named in Potsdam a road. In 1976, he was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame.