Emmerich Danzer

Emmerich Danzer was an Austrian figure skater who competed in two Olympic Winter Games. The first was at Innsbruck in 1964 when he finished fifth in the singles, and four years later he was at Grenoble, where he was the flagbearer for his country at the opening ceremony. Unfortunately he stumbled badly in the compulsory figures and paced an unfortunate fourth despite being the favourite. Danzer was also a three-time World Champion from 1966-68 and a four-time European Champion from 1965-68, and was also third in 1963.

Danzer started his career at the age of five. His coach was non-Olympian Herta Wächter. From 1965-68 he won four national titles. In 1966 and 1967 Danzer was named Sportsman of the Year in Austria. He was temporarily and secretly in a relationship with the East German skater Gabriele Seyfert, which caused diplomatic problems.

Danzer later turned professional, skating with Vienna Ice Revue and Holiday on Ice from 1968-75. From 1975-89 he worked as a skating coach in the United States. In addition to his skating career Danzer started a career as a singer. From 1995-97 he became president of the Austrian Skating Federation. He also commentated on figure skating events for the Austrian TV channel ORF.