Kurt Oppelt
Born	(1932-03-18)March 18, 1932 Vienna, Austria
Died	September 16, 2015(2015-09-16) (aged 83) Orlando,Florida, U.S.
Figure skating career
Country	Austria
Retired	1956
Medal record Representing Austria Pairs'Figure skating Olympic Games 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Pairs World Championships 1956 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Pairs 1955 Vienna Pairs 1954 Oslo Pairs European Championships 1956 Paris Pairs 1954 Bolzano Pairs 1953 Davos Pairs

Kurt Oppelt (March 18, 1932 – September 16, 2015) was an Austrianfigure skater who is best known for his career inpair skating. WithSissy Schwarz, he is the1956 Olympic champion, the1956 World champion, the1956 European champion, and a five-timeAustrian national champion (1952–56).^[1]

Oppelt started his career as a singles skater, taking bronze at the Austrian Championships in 1951–52 and silver in 1953. He placed 11th both at the1952 Olympics and at the1953 World Championships.

Oppelt's partner inpair skating wasSissy Schwarz. In 1952, they won their first national title and were sent to their firstEuropean Championships, where they placed seventh. The pair then competed at the1952 Winter Olympics inOslo, Norway, where they placed ninth, and at the1952 World Championships, finishing seventh.

Schwarz/Oppelt stepped onto the European podium for the first time at the1953 European Championships, where they won the bronze medal, and then placed sixth at theWorld Championships. In 1954, they becameEuropean silver medalists and went on to win their first World medal, bronze, at the1954 World Championships. They followed it up with silver at the1955 World Championships, finishing as close runners-up to Canada'sFrances Dafoe /Norris Bowden, who took their second World title.

After winning the Austrian national title for the fifth consecutive year, Schwarz/Oppelt became the1956 European champions. They then competed at the1956 Winter Olympics inCortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Skating to Banditenstreiche byFranz von Suppé,^[2] they won the gold medal ahead of Dafoe/Bowden, who faltered on a lift, causing them to finish after their music ended. The judging panel was split 6 to 3 in favor of Schwarz/Oppelt.^[3]

Schwarz/Oppelt went on to win the1956 World title before retiring from competition. In the summer of 1956, they joined theWiener Eisrevue and performed in ice shows for three or four years.^[4][5]

Oppelt was the coach of the Royal Dutch figure skating team from 1957–60.^[6] He later settled in the United States. Beginning in 1967, Oppelt was an instructor at thePennsylvania State University in its College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.^[6] He was inducted into Austrian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1976.^[6] In 1996, he received the Golden Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria.

With his wife Cathleen, he has two sons, Kurt and Christopher, born in the 1970s.^[4]

• List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians

• Video clip of Schwartz and Oppelt at the 1956 Olympics
• Video clip of Schwartz and Oppelt at the 1956 World Championships (rare and only pair recorded)
• Video clip Video clip of 1956 World Championships Medal Ceremony.

• 1932 births
• 2015 deaths
• Austrian male pair skaters
• Austrian male single skaters
• Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics
• Olympic figure skaters for Austria
• Olympic gold medalists for Austria
• Figure skaters from Vienna
• Olympic medalists in figure skating
• World Figure Skating Championships medalists
• European Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics
• 20th-century Austrian sportsmen

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
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• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages using infobox figure skater with unknown parameters