Ulrich Salchow

Who was Ulrich Salchow?

Karl Emil Julius Ulrich Salchow was a Swedish figure skater, who dominated the sport in the first decade of the 20th century.

Salchow won the World Figure Skating Championships ten times, from 1901 to 1905, and from 1907 to 1911. This is still a record, which he shares with Sonja Henie who also won 10 titles in the 1920s and 1930s, and with Irina Rodnina who won 10 titles in the 1960s and 1970s. Salchow did not compete in the 1906 World Championships that were held in Munich, as he feared that he would not be judged fairly against Gilbert Fuchs of Germany. When figure skating was first contested at the Summer Olympic Games in London, Salchow also won the title with ease. In addition, Salchow won the European Championships a record nine times and placed second in the World Championships three times.

In 1909, Ulrich Salchow first landed a jump in competition in which he took off on the back inside edge, and landed on the back outside edge of his other foot. This jump is now known as the salchow jump in his honor.

After his competitive days, Salchow remained active in the sport, and was president of the International Skating Union from 1925 to 1937. Furthermore, he was the chairman of AIK in Stockholm between 1928 and 1939 - a leading Swedish club in football, ice-hockey, bandy, tennis and other sports.