Ria Baran

{{Short description|German figure skater (1922–1986)}}

{{moresources|date=April 2019}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}

{{Infobox figure skater

|name= Ria Baran

|image=

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|fullname=

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|country= {{FRG}}

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|birth_date= {{Birth date|df=yes|1922|11|2}}

|birth_place= Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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|residence=

|death_date= {{Death date and age|df=yes|1986|11|12|1922|11|2}}

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|partner=

|formerpartner= Paul Falk

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|retired= 1952

|show-medals=yes

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{{MedalCountry|{{FRG}}}}

{{MedalSport | Pairs' Figure skating}}

{{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}

{{MedalGold | 1952 Oslo | Pairs}}

{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}

{{MedalGold| 1951 Milan|Pairs}}

{{MedalGold| 1952 Paris|Pairs}}

{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}

{{MedalGold| 1951 Zürich|Pairs}}

{{MedalGold| 1952 Vienna|Pairs}}

}}

Ria Baran ({{IPA|de|ˈʁiːa baˈʁaːn|-|De-Ria Baran.ogg}}; 2 November 1922 in Dortmund, Germany – 12 November 1986) was a German pair skater. She skated together with Paul Falk and twice became World champion and in 1952 Olympic champion. She was one of the oldest female figure skating Olympic champions.

Ria Baran married Paul Falk during her active international figure skating. Therefore she is sometime listed as Ria Baran-Falk or Ria Falk.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, they were known in the skating world as "the Falks". They were also world pair championships in roller skating.

The pair skated for the club Düsseldorfer EG and had no coach.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} They came in fourth place at the German National Championships in 1940. Their career was curtailed by World War II; they won Nationals when they were reinstated in 1947. Until 1951, when they won the European Championships, Baran and Falk were not able to participate in international competitions because Germany was excluded from the international sport after the war. Also in 1951, they won the World Championships over Americans Karol Kennedy and Peter Kennedy. In 1952, they won their second European and World titles, as well as a gold medal at the Olympics.{{Cite book |last=Hines |first=James R. |title=Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating |date=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6859-5 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=32}}

They were the first couple which performed side by side double jumps and they also invented the Lasso-Lift.

Baran and Falk were never defeated in amateur competition.

Between 1950 and 1952 Ria Baran was voted 3 times running as the female athlete of the year in Germany.

After winning the Olympics in 1952 they turned pro and worked for Holiday on Ice.

They were elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1993.

Baran later worked as a secretary.