Winners: Petra Burka, Figure Skating
1964 - Feature Story
Her mother Ellen was a legendary figure skating coach, but having an expert in the house didn’t automatically qualify Petra Burka for skating stardom. The Amsterdam-born, Toronto-based Burka also possessed the necessary drive and talent that would make her a champion. Burka won her first national championship at age 14, winning the Canadian junior title. She followed that up with a Silver medal at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Toronto, where she was the first to successfully land a triple Salchow. That effort earned her a trip to the 1962 World Championships in Prague, where she finished fourth. She took the Canadian senior championship in 1964 and securing a spot on Canada’s team to the 1964 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, earning a Bronze medal with a brilliant free skating program. She followed that up with a Bronze medal at the World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. At the end of 1964, upon hearing she had been named Canada’s top female athlete of the year, Burka was quoted as saying the award “was perhaps better than winning the Bronze medal.”
1965 - Feature Story
After earning a Bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Winter Games, Burka spent her off-season studying ballet to buoy up her free skating potential. The work paid off. She won the Canadian and North American Championship, then travelled to Colorado Springs where she won the Women’s World Championship with a strong free skate tinged only by a slip on her double flip jump near the end of her program.
Career Highlights
- 1965 Gold medallist, at the World Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 1965 Lou Marsh Memorial Award
- 1964-1966 Canadian Figure Skating Champion
- 1964, 1965 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (Canada’s female athlete of the year)
- 1964 Bronze medal at the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck
Bronze medal awarded to Petra Burka at the 1964 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck.
Date: 1964
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
World Figure Skating Lady Champion ribbon awarded to Petra Burka in Colorado Springs.
Date: 1965
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Figure Skating Championship Gold medal awarded to Petra Burka at the World Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs.
Date: 1965
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Petra Burka was awarded this medal by the Canadian Skating Association for winning the Senior Ladies Singles title.
Date: 1965
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame