Eva Pawlik - Silver Medal at The 1948 Olympics

Silver Medal At The 1948 Olympics

In 1947, Pawlik was rated best European skater and number 2 in the world. This did not help, as Austrian skaters were barred from entering European and World competitions (a throwback to the war). In 1948 she won 3 silver medals, at the European's, at the Olympics and at the World's. In Sandra Stevenson´s opinion it was "not surprising that North Americans, whose skating activities had not been interrupted" during World War II, "should do well when the sport resumed in 1947. When Eva Pawlik of Austria unsuccessfully challenged Barbara Ann Scott in 1948 one reason given for her failure was that she skated with dirty boots and holes in her tights. The boots were so old that they no longer responded to cleaning and the holes were darned. It was the best she could manage with all the shortages in her country." It is remarkable that at the 1948 European's Eva Pawlik was the best ranked European lady figure skater. Nevertheless, she only got the silver medal because the title was awarded to the non-European Barbara Ann Scott from Canada. That was unusual because, in many sports, European championships are restricted to European competitors.