Arthur Apfel

Arthur Apfel born in Johannesburg in 1922, is now in his 80's and living in Johannesburg. Besides having won a bronze in the World Figure Skating Championships of 1947 he was also known as the World's fastest spinner on ice using both normal and stilt skates. However, there is no formal recognition of this as a category on ice. He claims that he has achieved 59 rotations on one spot before friction brought him to a standstill. He developed a unique, crosslegged technique in order to achieve this and few have, to date, been able to duplicate this achievement. He has 16mm footage shot at 18 frames per second shot in 1947 that authenticate his claim at the time.

A duplicate of the 16mm footage, in digital format, is available at the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and Museum, 20 First Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906. Phone (719) 635-5200. The curator is Beth Davis.