Mária Saáry

Mária Saáry and her sister Éva demonstrated their skating talent in their childhood. At the age of ten they had the opportunity to attend the ice school of the great figure skater of the 1930s, the Olympic champion Karl Schäfer, in Vienna.

Between 1934 and 1948, Mária competed for BKE, and then in 1948-1949 for MÉMOSZ SE. In the Hungarian championship, she finished third in 1941 and 1943, second in 1946, and first in 1947, 1948 and 1949. World War II did not interrupt her career either. The siblings and their parents first moved to Sopron and then, with the help of Schäfer, they survived the war in Austria.

Between 1946 and 1949 she was the member of the Hungarian national team. She finished second at the World College Championships in 1947 and 1949. In 1948 she took part in the St. Moritz Olympics where she finished 17th. In the same year, she finished 11th at the World Championships in Davos and 18th at the European Championships in Praha. In 1949 she got married and moved to Vienna. Later, she performed as a solo dancer in American ice shows (Ice Follies, Hot Ice). From 1963 she worked as a youth coach in Vienna.