Lily Kronberger (12 November 1890 – 21 May 1974),[1][2] also spelled Lili Kronberger, was a Hungarian figure skater competitive during the early years of modern figure skating. She was Hungary’s first World Champion.
Early life
Kronberger was born in Budapest in 1890,[1][3] the youngest child and only daughter of Miksa Kronberger (1857-1902), a lumber merchant, and Janka Kreisler (1867-1927).
Career
Kronberger won a World bronze medal in 1906, at the first official World Championships to include a ladies' event.
She won bronze again in 1907 and four gold medals from 1908 to 1911.[4]" She was the first athlete to win a world championship gold for Hungary.
At the 1911 championship in Vienna, she caused a stir by bringing a military band along to play during her free skating program,[5][6] which included a "clear interpretation"[7] of the music she used, even though the use of music during international figure skating competitions was rare at the time.[7] Kronberger worked with Zoltán Kodály to develop a method of notation for placing skating steps with music and anticipated that music would someday be written for skating as it was for ballets.[8] Ann and Gregory Kelley, writing for Skating magazine, credited her with "an integral role in fusing music to skating".[9]
Later in 1911, she married Imre Szent-Györgyi[3] and retired from competition, handing the baton over to Opika Méray Horváth. She and her husband worked to develop skating in Hungary, although there was often a lack of ice.[8]
She died in Budapest in 1974, at the age of 83.[2]
Halls of Fame
Kronberger, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.[4]
She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1997.
Results
| Event | 1904 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| Hungarian Championships* | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
*Co-ed competition from 1900–1922
See also
References
- 1 2 Entry number 2317 in the 1890 birth register of the Jewish congregation of Pest (Accessed 17 May 2020)
- 1 2 Budapest District II civil register of deaths, entry 701/1974 (Accessed 17 May 2020)
- 1 2 Budapest District V civil register of marriages, entry 154/1911 (Accessed 17 May 2020)
- 1 2 Lili Kronberger Archived 2019-05-21 at the Wayback Machine at Jewishsports.net
- ↑ "ÖNB-ANNO - Blatt der Hausfrau - Heft 20 - Seite 5". anno.onb.ac.at. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ↑ Blog, Skate Guard. "Skate Guard: Marches And Mazurkas: Music's Role In Figure Skating History". Skate Guard. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- 1 2 Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003). Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning. Middleton, Connecticut: Wesleyan Publishing Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-8195-6641-1.
- 1 2 Alexander, Freda (April 1965). "Lily Kronberger·Szent-Györgi" (PDF). Skating. p. 28.
- ↑ Kelley, Gregory; Kelley, Ann (June 1965). "Impact on the Arts" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 42, no. 6. p. 25.
External links
- Skating in Hungary 2004 European Figure Skating Championships
