Maria Jelinek

Maria Jelinek
Personal information
Full name	Maria Jelinek
Country represented	Canada
Born	November 16, 1942 (1942-11-16) Prague, Czechoslovakia
Former partner	Otto Jelinek
Skating club	Oakville Skating Club
Retired	1962
Medal record Competitor for Canada Pairs' Figure skating World Championships Gold 1962 Prague Pairs Silver 1960 Vancouver Pairs Bronze 1958 Paris Pairs Bronze 1957 Colorado Springs Pairs North American Championships Gold 1961 Philadelphia Pairs Silver 1957 Rochester Pairs

Maria Jelinek (birth name Maria Jelínková; born November 16, 1942 in Prague) is a Canadian pair skater. She competed with her brother Otto Jelinek. They are the 1962 World Champions, the 1961 North American national champions, and 1961–1962 Canadian national champions. They represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where they placed 4th.

The pair were the first to perform lifts with several rotations, and also performed side-by-side double jumps.^{[citation needed]} Maria was tall for a pair skater, at 5' 7½".

The Jelinek family fled to Canada from Czechoslovakia in 1948 at the beginning of the Cold War. While competing, the pair were warned not to return to Czechoslovakia for events, but chose to do so despite political and personal concerns. They won their World title in the original home city of Prague. The Jelineks retired from competition later in 1962, and toured professionally with Ice Capades.

The Jelineks were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1962 and into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1994.

Maria currently resides in Oakville, Ontario.

Results

with Otto Jelinek

Event	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962
Winter Olympic Games						4th
World Championships			3rd	3rd	4th	2nd		1st
North American Championships			2nd				1st
Canadian Championships	1st J.	2nd	2nd	2nd		2nd	1st	1st

• J = Junior level

References

• "Ice Storm", Toronto Life, April 2006.
• Beverley Smith, Figure Skating: A Celebration. ISBN 0-7710-2819-9.
• Canada's Sports Hall of Fame: Maria Jelinek
• "Maria Jelinek Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/je/maria-jelinek-1.html. Retrieved January 30, 2010. 
• "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 1 - 1896–1973" (PDF). Skate Canada. http://skatecanada.ca/en/events_results/results/archives/SkateCanadaResultsBook-%20Volume1-1896–1973.pdf. 
• "Canadian National Championships Medallists" (PDF). Skate Canada. http://skatecanada.ca/en/events_results/results/archives/championships_results.pdf. 
• "World Figure Skating Championships Results: Pairs Medalists" (PDF). International Skating Union. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vfile/page/fileurl/0,11040,4844-148238-165454-56217-0-file,00.pdf.