List of Olympic medalists in figure skating
Figure skating was first contested as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved its inclusion in the Summer Olympics program.[1] It was featured a second time at the Antwerp Games,[2] after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the Winter Olympic Games, first held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.[1]
In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's special figures, and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by Russian Nikolai Panin, who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.[3] He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program. Once a demonstration event at Grenoble 1968, ice dancing has been an official medal-awarding Olympic figure skating event since it was introduced in 1976.[2]
Swedish figure skater Gillis Grafström (3 gold, 1 silver) and Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko (Russia) (2 gold, 2 silver) are the champions and the most successful figure skaters in the sport's history, they have won four Olympic medals in four Olympics Games in a row, this is an absolute record for number of medals won by one skater at the Olympics. (ISU).[4] Eleven figure skaters have won three medals: Sonja Henie (Norway) and Irina Rodnina (Soviet Union), winners of three consecutive titles in the ladies' singles (1928–1936) and pairs (1972–1980) events, respectively; Pierre Brunet and wife Andrée Brunet (France), 1928–1932 pairs champions; Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (China), the 2010 pairs gold medalists; ice dancers Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (Soviet Union and Unified Team); Artur Dmitriev (Unified Team and Russia); Beatrix Loughran (United States), medalist in both singles and pairs; ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White (United States); ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada).[5]
Besides Grafström and Henie, only Karl Schäfer (Austria), Dick Button (United States), and Katarina Witt (East Germany) successfully defended their singles titles. Rodnina's two-time partner Alexander Zaitsev, Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov (Soviet Union), in the pairs, and Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov (Russia), in ice dance, also retained their gold medals. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov are also two-time Olympic champions: they won the pairs competition in 1988 for the Soviet Union, and repeated the victory at the Lillehammer Games representing Russia.[6]
On two occasions, one country accomplished a medal sweep: Sweden in the 1908 men's singles, and the United States in the 1956 men's singles. From 1964 to 2006, Russian figure skaters—representing the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, or Russia—have always won a gold medal in the pairs event, in what is the longest series of victories for one country in one event.[7] A total of 240 medals (81 gold, 79 silver, and 80 bronze) have been won by figure skaters representing 25 NOC countries.
Events
Men's singles
Men's special figures
Special figures has been discontinued as an Olympic event.
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
Nikolai Panin Russia
|
Arthur Cumming Great Britain
|
Geoffrey Hall-Say Great Britain
|
Ladies' singles
Pairs
From 1964 to 2006, Russian figure skaters—representing the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, or Russia—won the gold medal in the pairs event, in what is the longest series of victories for one country in one winter event.[7]
Ice dancing
Team trophy
Medal leaders
The record for the number of Olympic medals by an individual is held by Gillis Grafström (Sweden) and Evgeni Plushenko (Russia) who have each won four medals.[9]
Athletes who won more than one medal at the Olympics are listed below.[5]
Medal sweep events
These are events in which athletes from one NOC won all three medals.
| Games | Event | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London | Men's singles |  Sweden (SWE)
|
Ulrich Salchow | Richard Johansson | Per Thorén |
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Men's singles |  United States (USA)
|
Hayes Alan Jenkins | Ronnie Robertson | David Jenkins |
See also
- Medal table for Olympic figure skating
- List of Olympic medalists in figure skating by age
- World Figure Skating Championships
Notes
- ^ Grafström's first gold medal was in the figure skating tournament held during the 1920 Summer Olympics. The remaining medals were won at the 1924–1932 Winter Games.
- ^ No silver medal was awarded in the 2002 Olympic figure skating pairs event, as the Canadians Salé and Pelletier were also given a gold medal, in the aftermath of a judging scandal.[10]
- ^ Irina Rodnina won three gold medals, and Alexander Zaitsev won two gold medals. Rodnina won a gold medal with partner Alexei Ulanov in 1972. Rodnina and Zaitsev won two gold medals together in 1976 and 1980.
- ^ Artur Dmitriev won two gold medals and a silver medal, and Natalia Mishkutenok won a gold and a silver medal. Dmitriev and Mishkutenok won their medals in 1992 and 1994. Dmitriev won his other gold medal with partner Oksana Kazakova in 1998.
- ^ Beatrix Loughran won three medals in two disciplines. A silver and a bronze medal in ladies' singles and a silver medal with partner Sherwin Badger in pairs.
- ^ Phyllis Johnson won two medals in pairs with two different partners. A silver medal with James H. Johnson in 1908 and a bronze medal with Basil Williams in 1920.
- ^ At the 1964 Olympics, Marika Kilius / Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Debbi Wilkes / Guy Revell, and Vivian Joseph / Ronald Joseph pairs placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively. Two years later, Kilius / Bäumler's results were invalidated because the pair had signed a professional contract before the Olympics. The silver medals went to Wilkes / Revell and the bronze medals to Joseph / Joseph. However, in 1987, the Germans were re-awarded the silvers after appealing that other pairs had signed similar contracts but weren't exposed and disqualified. After that, the placement of Wilkes / Revell and Joseph / Joseph pairs were unclear for many years. In November 2014, the IOC clarified that since the 1987 decision that both the German and Canadian pairs are the silver medalist and the US pair are the bronze medalist.[11][12]
References
- General
- "Results database". Athletes. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ISU – Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating results:
- Specific
- ^ a b "Figure Skating". Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
- ^ a b "Figure Skating: History". Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
- ^ Windhausen, John D. (1976). "Russia's First Olympic Victor" (PDF). Journal of Sport History. 3 (1). United States of America: North American Society for Sport History: 35–44. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- ^ "Skating and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (199). Lausanne: International Olympic Committee: 353. May 1984. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Kubatko, Justin. "Figure Skating". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- ^ "Then & Now: Ekaterina Gordeeva". CNN.com. CNN. June 22, 2005. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
- ^ a b "Factsheet: Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Mihoces, Gary (February 14, 2006). "Record day for Russia's Plushenko; Weir second". USA Today. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
- ^ "Skating and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (199). Lausanne: International Olympic Committee: 353. May 1984. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ "Sale, Pelletier share gold with Russian pair". Salt Lake'02 Winter Games. ESPN. Associated Press. February 15, 2002. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ^ "Fifty years later, Joseph siblings find redemption". IceNetwork.com. November 25, 2014.
- ^ Hersh, Philip (November 25, 2014). "A half-century later, Joseph siblings recognized as Olympic medal-winners". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
External links
| Summer |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Winter | ||
| Summer sports |
|
|---|---|
| Winter sports | |
| Discontinued sports | |
| Unofficial sports | |
