| Petra Burka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Petra Burka in 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1946-11-17)November 17, 1946 (age 78) Amsterdam, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Toronto Skating Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Petra Burka (/ˈpiːtrəˈbɜːrkə/; born November 17, 1946) is a Canadian former competitivefigure skater and nowcoach. She won the 1964 Olympic bronze medal in women's figure skating and the 1965 World championship in the sport.
Petra Burka was born inAmsterdam, Netherlands on November 17, 1946,[1] the daughter of Dutch figure skater and coachEllen Burka and a Czech-born artist,Jan Burka.[2] The family moved to Canada in 1951.[1] Her parents divorced in the mid-1950s.[3] Raised as Christians, Petra and her sister, Astra, were in their late teens when their mother told them about her background as aHolocaust survivor.[2]
Petra Burka began skating lessons at the age of 10 or 11.[4] Her mother, also her coach, was advised byOsborne Colson of her talent.[4]
Burka was the Canadian junior champion in 1961.[5] At the 1962 Canadian Championships, Burka became the first woman to land a tripleSalchow and came away with the silver medal.[4] She finished in fourth place in herWorld Championship debut inPrague in the same year.[6] The father of one of Ellen Burka's students,Stafford Smythe, arranged for Petra – who was in need of extra ice time – to train atMaple Leaf Gardens at 7 a.m. every day before the hockey players arrived at 9:30.[4]
Burka won the first of her three consecutive senior national titles in 1964 and represented Canada at the1964 Olympics inInnsbruck, winning the bronze medal.[7] Unaware that she was expected to skate an exhibition, she was brought back to the rink in a police car just before she was called onto the ice.[4] Burka became the first Canadian skater to perform in the Soviet Union when she appeared in a two-week tour inMoscow andKyiv.[4]
Burka won bronze at the1964 World Championships inDortmund. She was the gold medalist at the1965 World Championships inColorado Springs, Colorado, becoming the first Canadian woman to win Worlds sinceBarbara Ann Scott in 1947. At the event, she also became the first woman to complete the tripleSalchow at a World Championships.[6][5]
Her other achievements were winning Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year in 1964 and twice winning Canada's Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year in 1964 and 1965. In 1965 she was also inducted to theCanada's Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
Burka took bronze at the1966 World Championships and retired from competition. She signed withHoliday On Ice,[8][5] skating with the tour until 1969.[9] Burka then took oncoaching as well as being acommentator on figure skating events forCBC andCBS for Olympic, World, European and Canadian championships.
Petra Burka was inducted into theOntario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[10]
| International | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 |
| Winter Olympics | 3rd | ||||
| World Championships | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 3rd |
| North American Champ. | 2nd | 1st | |||
| National | |||||
| Canadian Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
