The only male singles skater to claim three Olympic gold medals, the Swede did it in 1920, ’24 and ’28. Grafström is also one of two athletes to win a gold medal at both the Winter and Summer Games (1920, reportedly with a pair of store-bought skates not fit for competition). Merrill became the second and final U.S. woman to win a medal at European Championships, which the following year allowed only skaters from European countries.

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Hamill came in second in the figures and then won the short and long programs, taking the gold medal. She was the last single skater to win the Olympics without a triple jump.[1] Hamill also won the 1976 World Championships, and then turned professional. From age three she had taken roller-skating classes and private lessons. She won her age group’s gold medal at the roller-skating national championships when she was nine years old.

Programs

Henie’s unprecedented three Olympic gold medals have not been matched by any ladies’ single skater since, nor have her achievements as ten-time consecutive World champion. While Irina Slutskaya of Russia has held the record for most European titles among ladies’ skaters since 2006, Henie still retains the record of most consecutive titles, sharing it with Katarina Witt of East Germany/Germany (1983–1988). Women’s figure skating is one of the most eagerly watched events of any Winter Olympics, with reliably high American viewership numbers at the events of the past 30 years. As of 2022, Russia surpassed the United States in ranking the most medals than any other country in figure skating. Having won a total of 60 medals of which are 30 gold, 21 silver, & 9 bronze. Competing and representing under the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russian Federation, Olympic Athletes from Russia, & Russian Olympic Committee.

  • The duo will certainly be remembered for their achievements in pair skating, but Gordeeva showed the world that figure skating is sentimental, as she skated to Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5” in honor of her love.
  • Arakawa was 24 when she took the title, making her the oldest women’s Olympic figure skating champion since 1908 champion Florence “Madge” Cave Syers, who won at 27.
  • Henie’s connections with Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials made her the subject of controversy before, during, and after World War II.
  • Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star.

Her name and likeness were mentioned and portrayed by an ice skating Donald Duck in Walt Disney’s 1939 The Hockey Champ. An English translation, Wings on My Feet, was released in 1940 and republished in a revised edition in 1954. At the time of her death, the 57 year old Henie was planning a comeback for a television special that would have aired in January 1970. Hamill has continued to skate in shows, including a regular principal role with Broadway on Ice.

A Brief History of Women’s Figure Skating

At the same time, figure skating had become less a technical pursuit involving the tracing of figures and more an artistic pastime involving costume, moves taken from dance, and athletic feats. By that time, Syers had died, but Austrian Herma Szabo took gold, the first of many women to win at the Winter Olympics. In Nagano, Japan, Lipinksi upset gold-medal favorite Michelle Kwan to become the youngest (15 years, 255 days) Olympics figure skating champion.

Records and achievements

Kwan’s record in these events is listed by season in the tables below. Monika Dannemann was a German painter and figure skater whose professional achievements were overshadowed by her relationship with legendary guitar player Jimi Hendrix; she is often referred to as the last girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix. A year before her death, Monika Dannemann published a book titled The Inner World of Jimi Hendrix.

Filmography

He won gold at the 1908 Olympics in London (back when skating was held during the Summer Games), but his real claim to fame at the time were his 10 world championship gold medals in men’s singles. The latter is still a world record for men and shared with the great Sonja Henie and Irina Rodnina. Not only is Plushenko perhaps the greatest male singles skater in Russian history, but he also is right up there with the best in world. He’s a four-time Olympic medalist (tied for second all time) with singles gold in 2006 and team gold in ’14.

Performance

There’s a good bet any young girl with dark hair living in America in the mid-to-late 1970s sported the famed Dorothy Hamill bobbed haircut. Especially in 1976, when the 19-year-old became America’s skating sweetheart while winning Olympic gold and also placing first at the world championships. Hamill, who also placed second twice at the Worlds, was known for her “Hamill camel” — combination camel and sit spin. She is still celebrated on and off the ice and is a breast cancer survivor who has battled depression. In 1976, the creative and supremely talented Curry won gold at both the Olympics and the world championships. Known for his style and elegance on the ice, Britain’s Curry reportedly posted the highest score for a men’s singles competition at the time (105.9) while placing first at the Innsbruck Games in ’76.

Your Favorite Olympic Figure Skaters, Then And Now

All three Russian skaters have the same coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who will be investigated by Olympic, skating and anti-doping officials, along with other personnel in their Moscow training camp, after Valieva’s positive test. Shcherbakova and Trusova have not failed a https://accounting-services.net/20-famous-female-ice-skaters-who-won-olympic/ drug test, but their performances will inevitably raise questions, especially after Russia’s state-sponsored doping system was revealed after it hosted the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. In the team competition, Valieva became the first woman to land a quad at the Olympics.