László Szollás

László (Ladislaus) Szollás (13 November 1907 – 4 October 1980) was a Hungarian world champion and Olympic medalist pair skater.

László Szollás
Rotter and Szollás in 1933
Full nameLászló Szollás
Born(1907-11-13)13 November 1907
Budapest, Hungary
Died4 October 1980(1980-10-04) (aged 72)
Budapest, Hungary
Figure skating career
Country Hungary
Retired1936
Medal record
Representing  Hungary
Pairs Figure skating
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 1932 Lake Placid Pairs
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1935 BudapestPairs
Gold medal – first place1934 HelsinkiPairs
Gold medal – first place1933 StockholmPairs
Silver medal – second place1932 MontrealPairs
Gold medal – first place1931 BerlinPairs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1934 PraguePairs
Silver medal – second place1931 St. MoritzPairs
Silver medal – second place1930 ViennaPairs

Early life

Szollas was Jewish.[1][2][3][4] He attended the Ludovika Military Academy in the Horthy era..

Figure skating career

With partner Emília Rotter he won the World Figure Skating Championship four times in five years (1931, 1933, 1934, and 1935), and they were the 1932 World silver medalists.[5] They were also the 1934 European Champions, and 1930 and 1931 silver medalists.[5]

They represented Hungary at the 1932 Winter Olympics and at the 1936 Winter Olympics, winning two bronze medals.[5]

Later life
László Szollás commemorative plaque in Budapest District XII, Győri Street No 2/c

Subsequently, he fought against the Soviet Union on the eastern front in WW2. He became a prisoner of war and was imprisoned in a POW camp for 4 years in Siberia.[6] Upon returning to Hungary the Hungarian Stalinist government nationalized nearly all of his assets, including a large rental apartment building in Budapest's 7th district..

After retirement, he attended Semmelweis Medical School in Budapest and earned a medical degree at the Péter Pázmány University and became a sports medicine doctor at the Sport Korhaz (Hospital for Professional Sports) in Budapest and a surgeon at the Országos Sportegészségügyi Intézet in Budapest.[7] After the war he returned to Hungary and worked as a physician in the National Institute of Physical Education and Sports Hygiene in Budapest and served as President of the Hungarian Skating Association.[7]

Hall of Fame

He and his partner, Emília Rotter, were elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[4][7]

Competitive highlights

(with Rotter)

Event 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936
Winter Olympic Games3rd3rd
World Championships5th1st2nd1st1st1st
European Championships2nd2nd1st
Hungarian Championships1st1st1st1st1st1st

See also

References
  1. Wiener, Julie. "Jews in the Olympics". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  2. Jews in the Gym: Judaism, Sports, and Athletics. Purdue University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1-55753-629-7. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. Bob Wechsler (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-969-8. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  4. "Laszlo Szollas". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. Hines, James R. (22 April 2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating - James R. Hines - Google Books. ISBN 978-0-8108-7085-7. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. Hilary Evans; Arild Gjerde; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon. "László Szollás Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  7. Guard, Skate (14 February 2018). "Skate Guard: Two Hits Of Hungary: The Emília Rotter And László Szollás Story". Skateguard1.blogspot.com. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
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