title: 1969 Blue Swords
text: # 1969 Blue Swords
  
  The 1969 Blue Swords (German: Pokal der Blauen Schwerter) was an international senior-level figure skating competition organized in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. East Germany's Günter Zöller won his fourth consecutive Blue Swords title, defeating the Soviet Union's Vladimir Kovalev and teammate Jan Hoffmann. East Germans swept the ladies' podium, led by Sonja Morgenstern.
  
  Soviet duo Lyudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin outscored Manuela Groß / Uwe Kagelmann for gold in the pairs' event. In the ice dancing category, future Olympic champions Lyudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov won their third straight Blue Swords title. It was the last edition of the event that included ice dancing, prior to the 1990s.
  
  ## Results
  
  ### Men
  
  | Rank | Name | Nation |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Günter Zöller | East Germany |
  | 2 | Vladimir Kovalev | Soviet Union |
  | 3 | Jan Hoffmann | East Germany |
  
  ### Ladies
  
  | Rank | Name | Nation |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Sonja Morgenstern | East Germany |
  | 2 | Simone Gräfe | East Germany |
  | 3 | Christine Errath | East Germany |
  
  ### Pairs
  
  | Rank | Name | Nation |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Lyudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin | Soviet Union |
  | 2 | Manuela Groß / Uwe Kagelmann | East Germany |
  | 3 | Beatrix von Brück / Reinhard Mirmsecker | East Germany |
  
  ### Ice dancing
  
  | Rank | Name | Nation |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Lyudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov | East Germany |
  | 2 | Annerose Baier / Eberhard Rüger | East Germany |
  | 3 | Tatiana Voitiuk / Viacheslav Zhigalin | Soviet Union |
  