Karol Divín

Karol Divín
Karol Divin (left), Manfred Schnelldorfer and Alain Calmat (1964)
Personal information
Full name	Karol Emil Divín
Alternative names	Finster
Country represented	Czechoslovakia
Born	(1936-02-22) 22 February 1936 (age 81) Budapest, Hungary
Former coach	Ivan Mauer Anton Divín
Retired	1964
Medal record Representing  Czechoslovakia Men's Figure skating Olympic Games 1960 Squaw Valley Men's singles World Championships 1964 Dortmund Men's singles 1962 Prague Men's singles European Championships 1964 Grenoble Men's singles 1962 Geneva Men's singles 1959 Davos Men's singles 1958 Bratislava Men's singles 1957 Vienna Men's singles 1956 Paris Men's singles 1955 Budapest Men's singles 1954 Bolzano Men's singles

Karol "Karcsi" Emil Divín, born Finster, (born 22 February 1936) is a former competitive figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia. He is the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time European champion (1958–59), and a two-time World medalist (silver in 1962, bronze in 1964).

Divín was born 22 February 1936 in Budapest. His mother, Irma, was Czech, his father, Anton Finster, a Hungarian of German descent, and one of his grandmothers a Slovak. After World War II, the family adopted his grandmother's surname, Divín. They moved to Bratislava in 1946. In early childhood, Divín was interested in soccer and tennis.

Divín was introduced to figure skating by his father, who was also his first coach.

At the 1954 European Championships in Bolzano, Italy, Divín stepped onto a major international podium for the first time, taking the bronze medal. He placed fifth at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Following three consecutive years as European bronze medalist, he won the silver medal at the 1957 European Championships in Vienna, Austria.

Divín won gold at the 1958 European Championships in Bratislava and defended his European title at the 1959 European Championships in Davos, Switzerland. Ivan Mauer became his coach in 1959.