Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics
| Figure skating at the V Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Olympic Games |
| Champions | |
Men's singles:  Dick Button | |
Ladies' singles:  Barbara Ann Scott | |
Pair skating:  Micheline Lannoy / Pierre Baugniet | |
| Previous: 1936 Winter Olympics | |
| Next: 1952 Winter Olympics | |
Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympic Ice Rink in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.[1]
Event summary[edit]
Barbara Ann Scott became the first Canadian to win the figure skating gold medal while Dick Button became the first American to win a figure skating title for the United States. Button also became the first figure skater to perform a double axel in competition.
The competition began with the men's compulsory figures on 2 February. However, the next day, competition was postponed in the midst of the ladies' figures event due to a thaw that left puddles of water on the outdoor ice surface. On 5 February competition had to be resumed, regardless of poor ice conditions, in order to allow the Games to finish on schedule. The pairs event on 7 February was skated in a heavy snowstorm, with the ice having to be scraped after each program.[2]
Medal summary[edit]
Medalists[edit]
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles |
 Dick Button (USA)
|
 Hans Gerschwiler (SUI)
|
 Edi Rada (AUT)
|
| Ladies' singles |
 Barbara Ann Scott (CAN)
|
Eva Pawlik (AUT)
|
 Jeannette Altwegg (GBR)
|
| Pairs skating |
 Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet (BEL) |
 Andrea Kékesy and Ede Király (HUN) |
Suzanne Morrow and Wallace Diestelmeyer (CAN) |
Medal table[edit]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 4 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (7 nations) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
References[edit]
- ^ "Figure Skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "The Olympics: 1948 and 1952", Skating magazine, February 1960
External links[edit]
- "Official Olympic report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. (3.70 MB)
- Winter Olympic Memories: Men
- Winter Olympic Memories: Ladies
- Winter Olympic Memories: Pairs
- Skatabase: Men
- Skatabase: Ladies
- Skatabase: Pairs
