At the 1962 Canadian Championships, Burka became the first woman to land a triple Salchow and came away with the silver medal. She finished 4th in her World Championship debut in Prague in the same year. The father of one of Ellen Burka's students, Stafford Smythe, arranged for Petra – who was in need of extra ice time – to train at Maple Leaf Gardens at 7 a.m. every day before the hockey players arrived at 9:30.