Uschi Keszler

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (April 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

View a machine-translated version of the German article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,119 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Uschi Keszler]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Uschi Keszler}} to the talk page.
For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)^[1]Figure skating careerCountryWest GermanyRetired1966

Ursula "Uschi" Keszler^[1] (born August 13, 1948) is a figure skating coach and choreographer and a former competitor for West Germany.

Career

Uschi Keszler qualified to represent the United Team of Germany at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck and finished 24th. The following season, she became the West German national champion and placed 11th at the 1965 European Championships.

In the 1965–66 season, Keszler won gold at the Richmond Trophy and the national silver medal. In January 1966, Keszler placed eighth at the European Championships and then 11th at the 1966 World Championships in late February. After the retirement of pairs skaters Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler in 1964, the German Ice Skating Union was under pressure to produce more champion pairs. In April 1966, it was reported that Keszler and a fellow single skater, Ralph Borghard, had trained together to compete in pairs. Borghard had recently escaped from East Germany during the world championships in Davos. Six weeks after Borghard's escape, during which the two had practiced lifts, Keszler's parents and fiancé objected to the pairing.^[1] Ultimately, she never returned to competition.

Keszler spent eight months in hospital after contracting tuberculosis and was advised by her doctors not to return to competition.^[2] She began working as a coach and choreographer in the United States. Keszler is known primarily for her work with Canadian skaters Brian Orser, Elvis Stojko, and Shae-Lynn Bourne / Victor Kraatz. Keszler invented the term "hydroblading" to refer to skating on deep edges low to the ice, and using it as a training technique. In 1997, she became a co-owner of the Ice Works rink in Aston, Pennsylvania.^[2]

Personal life

Keszler was born in Mannheim and settled in the United States. She married Aram Boornazian, with whom she has a son, Marc.^[2] A survivor of breast and uterine cancer, she founded Uschi Keszler's Pennies-in-Action Cancer Research Fund.^[2]

Competitive highlights

International
Event	1962–63	1963–64	1964–65	1965–66
Winter Olympics		24th
World Champ.		15th		11th
European Champ.			11th	8th
Richmond Trophy				1st
Prague Skate				3rd
National
West Germany	6th	2nd	1st	2nd

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Traum oder Torte" [A dream or a faceplant]. Der Spiegel (in German). April 4, 1966.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rodgers, Loretta (August 22, 2011). "Cancer survivor Uschi Keszler creates 'Pennies in Action'". Delco News Network.