# 1961 European Figure Skating Championships

The 1961 European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The competitions took place from January 26 to 29, 1961 in West Berlin. West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, but the German Skating Association from East Germany organized the championships. The event took place without the participation of skaters from the Soviet Union not because of a political boycott, but rather because an exceptionally mild winter left the Russian skaters with insufficient ice for practice in their home country. The Soviet team was also withdrawn from the originally planned World Championships for the same reason, but that tournament was subsequently cancelled after Sabena Flight 548.
The defending champions in all four divisions retained their titles. In the pairs competition, however, the champions Marika Kilius & Hans-Jürgen Bäumler faced a close battle with Margret Göbl & Franz Ningel, who had defeated them at the West German championships earlier in the season. Göbl & Ningel may have been penalized for including an illegal lift in their program.
In the ladies' event, Sjoukje Dijkstra built up a lead in the compulsory figures that assured her of victory. Her free skating program was described as "exhausting". The stars of the free skating were Helli Sengstschmidt and Jana Mrázková, who both reportedly did triple salchow jumps in their programs.
Alain Giletti likewise assured himself of victory by winning the figures by a large margin. All three medalists in the men's division gave fine free skating performances.

## Results
### Men

| Rank | Name | Places |
| 1 | Alain Giletti | 9 |
| 2 | Alain Calmat | 11 |
| 3 | Manfred Schnelldorfer | 23 |
| 4 | Peter Jonas | 37 |
| 5 | Emmerich Danzer | 51.5 |
| 6 | Robin Jones | 55.5 |
| 7 | Sepp Schönmetzler | 65 |
| 8 | Bodo Bockenauer | 79 |
| 9 | Heinrich Podhajsky | 80 |
| 10 | Per Kjølberg | 87 |
| 11 | Peter Krick | 91 |
| 12 | Wouter Toledo | 111 |
| 13 | Michael Flebbe | 112 |
| 14 | Giordano Abbondati | 122 |
| 15 | Ragnar Wikström | 135 |
Judges were
* P. Baron
* Charlotte Benedict-Stieber
* K. Beyer
* Pamela Davis
* A. Jaisli
* Ferenc Kertész
* Hans Meixner
* Giovanni de Mori
* E. A. Voigt

### Ladies

| Rank | Name | Places |
| 1 | Sjoukje Dijkstra | 9 |
| 2 | Regine Heitzer | 21 |
| 3 | Jana Mrázková | 26 |
| 4 | Karin Frohner | 49 |
| 5 | Dany Rigoulot | 57 |
| 6 | Helli Sengstschmid | 58 |
| 7 | Eva Grožajová | 66 |
| 8 | Nicole Hassler | 73 |
| 9 | Diana Clifton-Peach | 77 |
| 10 | Jitka Hlaváčková | 83 |
| 11 | Anne Reynolds | 85 |
| 12 | Karin Gude | 90 |
| 13 | Franziska Schmidt | 115 |
| 14 | Christa Fassi | 136 |
| 15 | Danièle Giraud | 141 |
| 16 | Ursula Barkey | 147 |
| 17 | Éva Csoma | 162 |
| 18 | Helga Zöllner | 169 |
| 19 | Dorette Bek | 175 |
| 20 | Silvana Saccozzi | 178 |
| 21 | Gabriele Seyfert | 179 |
| 22 | Sandra Brugnera | 188 |
| 23 | Heidemarie Steiner | 190 |
| 24 | Willie ten Hoopen | 216 |
Judges were
* Grazia Barcellona
* Karl Enderlin
* Paul Engelfriet
* Martin Felsenreich
* Ferenc Kertész
* Emil Skákala
* Néri Valdes
* Adolf Walker
* Geoffrey Yates

### Pairs

| Rank | Name | Places |
| 1 | Marika Kilius / Hans-Jürgen Bäumler | 13 |
| 2 | Margret Göbl / Franz Ningel | 14 |
| 3 | Margit Senf / Peter Göbel | 38.5 |
| 4 | Rita Blumenberg / Werner Mensching | 36 |
| 5 | Diana Hinko / Heinz Döpfl | 43.5 |
| 6 | Hana Dvořáková / Karel Vosátka | 52.5 |
| 7 | Valerie Hunt / Peter Burrows | 69.5 |
| 8 | Gerda Johner / Rüdi Johner | 74.5 |
| 9 | Irene Müller / Hans-Georg Dallmer | 75.5 |
| 10 | Renate Rößler / Klaus Wasserfuhr | 78 |
Judges were
* Ernst K. Bauch
* Charlotte Benedict-Stieber
* Pamela Davis
* A. Jaisli
* Theo Klemm
* Hans Meixner
* Giovanni de Mori
* Emil Skákala
* Néri Valdes

### Ice dance

| Rank | Name | Places |
| 1 | Doreen Denny / Courtney Jones | 7 |
| 2 | Christiane Guhel / Jean Guhel | 14 |
| 3 | Linda Shearman / Michael Philipps | 25 |
| 4 | Mary Parry / Roy Mason | 26 |
| 5 | Eva Romanová / Pavel Roman | 33 |
| 6 | Rita Paucka / Peter Kwiet | 46 |
| 7 | Olga Gilardi / Germano Ceccattini | 47 |
| 8 | Ludovica Boccacci / Gianfranco Canepa | 63 |
| 9 | Armelle Flichy / Pierre Brun | 65 |
| 10 | Jitka Babická / Jaromír Holan | 72 |
| 11 | Györgyi Korda / Pál Vásárhelyi | 73 |
| 12 | Christel Trebesiner / Georg Felsinger | 87 |
| 13 | Margot Nissen / Klaus Ebel | 87 |
| 14 | Marlyse Fornachon / Charly Pichard | 95 |
| 15 | Martha Schamberger / Hans-Jürgen Schamberger | 98 |
Judges were
* Cia Benacchi-Bordogna
* Ferenc Kertész
* L. Lauret
* H. Lawrence
* Walter Malek
* Hermann Schiechtl
* Emil Skákala