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Margret GoblGerman figure skater who competed in pairs
Date of Birth: 26.06.1938
Country:  Germany |
Content:
- Early Life and Career
- Success in the Early 1960s
- Continued Dominance
- Triumph and Retirement
- Professional Career and Personal Life
Early Life and Career
Margret Göbl was born in Nuremberg, Bavaria in June 1938. Despite pursuing figure skating since childhood, she had not achieved significant success by the age of twenty. Residing in Oberammergau, she learned of esteemed German pair skater Franz Ningel's search for a partner following the dissolution of his previous partnership.
The skaters decided to join forces, with Rosemary Brüning as their coach. Their debut at the 1959 German Championships yielded a silver medal. At the European Championships in Davos, they narrowly missed the podium. At the World Championships in Colorado Springs, they placed fifth.
Success in the Early 1960s
The following season, Göbl and Ningel emerged as German champions for the first time, surpassing the nation's leading pair. They earned bronze at the European Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen before finishing fifth at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. Immediately after the Games, they competed at the World Championships in Vancouver, where they placed fourth.
Continued Dominance
Göbl and Ningel retained their German title the next season. At the European Championships in West Berlin, they were runners-up, placing just behind their German teammates. However, German supporters believed the judges had made a mistake and that Göbl and Ningel were the superior pair. A tragedy in Belgium led to the cancellation of the World Championships in Prague.
Triumph and Retirement
In the 1962-63 season, Göbl and Ningel became three-time German champions. At the European Championships in Geneva, they finished third behind their German rivals Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler. At the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, the German skaters secured a bronze medal. They decided to retire from amateur competition after this event.
Professional Career and Personal Life
In 1964, Göbl and Ningel became world champions in the professional category. In 1972, the couple established a figure skating school in Duisburg. They later worked in Frankfurt. Göbl passed away in June 2013 in Essen.
In July 1962, Göbl and Ningel married. They had two children together. Their daughter Yasmin (born 1971) pursued figure skating and became German junior champion in 1988. Today, she holds a degree in dance pedagogy. Their son Manuel (born 1979) chose hockey as his ice sport of choice and began his career in Duisburg.
