Bodo Bockenauer (born 22 December 1940) is a German former figure skater. He is a two-time Blue Swords champion, a three-time East German national champion, and represented the United Team of Germany at the 1960 Winter Olympics, finishing 16th. His best ISU Championship result, sixth, came at the 1962 European Championships.

Bodo Bockenauer
Bockenauer in 1961
Born (1940-12-22) 22 December 1940 (age 83)
Berlin, Germany
Figure skating career
CountryWest Germany
East Germany
United Team of Germany
Retired1967

Career

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Coached by Inge Wischnewski,[1] Bockenauer trained at SC Dynamo Berlin and represented East Germany internationally for most of his competitive career. At the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, he competed as part of the United Team of Germany and finished 16th.

Bockenauer's best season was 1961–62. After winning the 1961 Blue Swords and his third national title, he placed sixth at the 1962 European Championships in Geneva and 11th at the 1962 World Championships in Prague. He repeated as Blue Swords champion the following season.[2]

Bockenauer defected to West Germany on 20 December 1963 in West Berlin, soon after arriving at a qualifying competition for the German unified team to the 1964 Olympics.[3] Though he originally intended to join an ice show,[4] he eventually began competing for West Germany. After winning the national silver medal, he was sent to the 1966 World Championships and finished 20th. In 1968, he began coaching at SC Küsnacht in Switzerland.

Competitive highlights

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International
Event 58–59 59–60 60–61 61–62 62–63 63–64 64–65 65–66 66–67
Olympics 16th
Worlds 11th 20th
Europeans 13th 15th 8th 6th
Blue Swords 1st 1st
National
West German 3rd 2nd 6th
East German 1st 1st 1st

References

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  1. ^ "Weltmeister-Trainerin Inge Wischnewski verstorben" [World champion coach Inge Wischnewski has died]. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (in German). Märkische Oderzeitung. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Blue Swords (Pokal der Blauen Schwerter) - Gold Medalists". Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  3. ^ "Un campeon de patinaje "escoge la libertad"" [A skating champion requests asylum]. EFE (in Spanish). ABC. 21 December 1963.
  4. ^ "Die politischen Piroutten des Bodo Bockenauer". Frankfurter Rundschau. Neues Deutschland. 6 April 1964.