(INFORMATION IN ENGLISH SEE BELOW)

 

Karriere mit Stolpersteinen

Dass Eva Pawlik nicht schon 1947 und 1948 Europa-Gold holen konnte, hatte nichts mit ihren sportlichen Leistungen zu tun. 1947 war Österreich aus politischen Gründen von der Teilnahme an internationalen Meisterschaften ausgeschlossen. 1948 durfte Eva Pawlik zwar endlich unter Beweis stellen, Europas beste Läuferin zu sein. Das half aber wenig: Europameisterin wurde nämlich eine Nichteuropäerin (Barbara Ann Scott aus Kanada). 


Olympia-Silber
Nach der Einschätzung von Sandra Stevenson (BBC Book of Skating) war es wenig überraschend, dass Nordamerikaner, deren sportliche Entwicklung nicht durch den Weltkrieg unterbrochen war, nach 1945 die Konkurrenz aus Europa in Schach halten konnten. Dass Eva Pawlik aus Österreich 1948 bei den Olympischen Spielen und der Weltmeisterschaft nur die Silbermedaillen gewann, soll unter anderem daran gelegen sein, dass sie mit schmutzigen Schuhen und gestopften Löchern in ihren Strumpfhosen lief. Die Schuhe waren so alt, dass sie auf die versuchte Reinigung nicht mehr ansprachen. Angesichts der Güterknappheit in ihrem Land sei dies jedoch das Beste gewesen, das sie bewerkstelligen konnte.

 

Interview mit Eva Pawlik über ihren Olympischen Erfolg 1948:
http://www.staatsvertrag.at/Sport/Olympische_Spiele/seite1_7.html


Metro Goldwyn Mayer machte Eva Pawlik 1948 ein verlockendes Angebot: In einem Hollywood-Film sollte der Kunstlauf der Vize-Olympiasiegerin mit Gene Kellys Tanz kombiniert werden. Pawlik hatte die Größe abzulehnen, um ihren Amateurstatus für das Jahr 1949 zu erhalten. Die Chancen für die bevorstehenden Meisterschaften standen gut. Nicht nur verabschiedete sich die ISU 1949 von der unüblichen Regel, dass Nordamerikaner zu den Europameisterschaften zugelassen waren. Darüber hinaus hatte sich Weltmeisterin Barbara Ann Scott entschieden, ins Profilager zu wechseln, wodurch der Weg Pawliks zu Gold nicht nur bei der EM, sondern auch bei der WM frei schien.

EUROPA-GOLD 1949 für Eva Pawlik vor der Weltmeisterin 1949
BRUCH DES ABSATZES verhindert WM-GOLD

Bei der Europameisterschaft in Mailand war Pawlik trotz einer Blinddarmentzündung sowohl in der Pflicht als auch in der Kür die Nummer eins. Bei der WM in Paris hingegen brach der Absatz des Schlittschuhs beim Einlaufen zur Kür. Pawliks Bitte um zehn Minuten, um sich in den geborgten Schuhen einer Kollegin auf ein geändertes Laufgefühl einstellen zu können, wurde vom Preisgericht abgelehnt. Die Vize-Europameisterin Vrzanová aus der Tschechoslowakei konnte also ohne nennenswerte Konkurrenz den WM-Titel erlaufen. Die Ursachen des gebrochenen Absatzes wurden nie geklärt.

Artikel im LIFE Magazine - WM 1949

Um ihre Eltern finanziell unterstützen zu können, unterschrieb Pawlik einen Vertrag bei der Wiener Eisrevue und war damit auf Grund des damals strengen Amateurparagraphen in Hinkunft von Welt- und Europameisterschaften ausgeschlossen. Auch die Beschwörungen Karl Schäfers, wenigstens noch ein Jahr Amateur zu bleiben, um Weltmeisterin 1950 zu werden, konnten sie da nicht umstimmen. Eine Entscheidung, die möglicherweise falsch war; vor allem auch deshalb, weil im Dezember 1949 ihr früherer Eispartner Rudi Seeliger aus russischer Kriegsgefangenschaft zurückkommen sollte. Mit ihm hatte Pawlik Jahre zuvor einige Jugend- und Juniorenmeistertitel gewonnen und das ungarische Paar Kekessy/Kiraly (die 1949 Weltmeister wurden) besiegt. Die Chancen im Paarlauf wären also ähnlich hoch gewesen wie im Einzellauf.


INFORMATION IN ENGLISH:

In 1947 Austrian skaters were barred from entering European and World Championships. Eva Pawlik had to watch the 1947 World Championships from the stand, knowing that she would have had a good chance to win a medal.

In 1948 Austrians were admitted again. Eva Pawlik proved to be the best European skater at the 1948 Europeans, at the 1948 Olympics and at the 1948 Worlds, each time taking the silver medal behind Canada´s Barbara Ann Scott.

In Sandra Stevenson´s opinion (BBC book of skating) it was "not surprising that North Americans, whose skating activities had not been interrupted" during World War II, "should do well when the sport resumed in 1947."
 
Victory ceremony with 1948 Olympic Champion Barbara Ann Scott,
Olympic runner-up Eva Pawlik (on the right) and the later
Olympic Champion Jeannette Altwegg taking the bronze medal (left)
 
In the summer of 1948, when the great Olympic Champion Barabara Ann Scott had turned professional, Olympic runner-up Eva Pawlik of Austria was celebrated as the world´s highest-ranking female amateur skater. It is remarkable that she had already been Europe´s best skater at the 1948 European Championships. However, she had not won the gold medal because the European title had been awarded to a non-European skater (Barbara Ann Scott of Canada).

Eva Pawlik did a lot of exhibition skating in the United States. In the Broadmoor Ice Revue, produced by Edi Scholdan in Colorado Springs, she appeared together with famous U.S. Champion Gretchen Merrill. Pawlik was asked to be the lead actress in a Hollywood movie by Billy Wilder and Gene Kelly, who wanted to combine his dancing with her skating. She said no because turning professional would have excluded her from the following years´s championships. Pawlik was said to have the best chance to win the next European and World titles.
 
 

Though suffering from acute appendicitis, Pawlik beat her rival, Alena Vrzanová, in both school figures and the free skating in Milan to become the 1949 European Champion. 


In Paris, where the 1949 World Championships were held, one of Pawlik´s heels broke while she and her competitors were warming up. As the judges did not allow her to try the shoes of a companion, she had to give up. So the European Vice Champion Vrzanová was able to win...

Article from LIFE Magazine - 1949 Worlds
 

Austrian double Olympic Champion Karl Schäfer implored Eva Pawlik not to turn professional but to take part in the 1950 European and World Championships. In the 1990s the ISU Historian, Mr. Benjamin T. Wright, wrote in a retrospective letter to Pawlik´s son that Pawlik was a better skater than Vrzanová and would probably have beaten her in 1950.


In 1943 Pawlik´s pair skating partner, Rudi Seeliger, who had been forced to serve in the German Army, was captured by the Soviets at the Eastern front and had to work as a coal miner in the Donetsk Basin in the Ukraine. He had a terrible time there but did not give up hope. In his dreams, he was thinking about skating with Eva. Finally, the Soviets let him go in December 1949. He belonged to the group of soldiers known as the „late homecomers“. He was 26 years of age at that time. 
 

If Eva Pawlik had known that Rudi Seeliger would come back at the end of 1949, she would have heeded Schäfer´s advice. She had known that she would keep her chances alive not only as a single skater but also as a pairs skater. The chances in pair skating were as good as in single skating because the international standard in pair skating was not extremely high at that time. Besides, there were no school figures in the pairs´ competitions, which would have made things easier for Eva.
 
As a matter of fact: Eva did not know that Rudi was still alive. She wanted to give financial support to her parents, whom she loved very intensely. That was the psychological reason for her decision to turn pro in the summer of 1949.
 
When Rudi Seeliger came back to Vienna in December 1949, he went to the skating rink immediately to find out if he was still able to skate. Some steps on the ice - - and he knew that he could still do it. One of the first things Rudi wanted to tell Eva was that he had not forgotten skating. As Eva was already a professional skater, it was too late for her and Rudi to compete together. So Rudi competed at the 1950 Austrian Championships with another partner (Susi Giebisch). After only a fortnight´s training, Seeliger and Giebisch won the gold medal, ranking ahead of Staerk/Gareis and Ratzenhofer/Ratzenhofer. It is worth mentioning that Ratzenhofer/Ratzenhofer had already been internationally successful, having been the 1949 European bronze medalists.
 
After this success, Rudi turned pro and joined the Vienna Ice Revue. First he was skating together with European bronze medalist Emmy Puzinger (at that time Eva Pawlik was skating with Hellmut May, who had finished 8th at the 1948 Olympics). Within a year, it was clear also to the management of the ice revue that Eva and Rudi artistically belonged together. Their first vaudeville number was „A little flirt“ (music: „Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps“/“Quizaz, quizaz, quizaz“).

Eva Pawlik and Rudi Seeliger had not had the opportunity to be
internationally successful as amateur pair skaters. However, they
became one of the world´s greatest professional couples on the ice. 
Profikarriere - Professional career Eva Pawlik/Rudi Seeliger