Terry McDermott (speed skater)
 McDermott at the 1968 Olympics | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Richard Terrance McDermott | ||||||||||||||
| Born | September 20, 1940 (age 83) Essexville, Michigan, U.S.[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Boston Ski and Sports Club | ||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Leo Freisinger[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 500 m – 39.6 (1964) 1000 m – 1:28.0 (1968) 1500 m – 2:22.1 (1968)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Richard Terrance "Terry" McDermott (nicknamed "The Essexville Rocket",[3] born September 20, 1940) is an American gold and silver medal winning Olympic speed skater.
McDermott was a surprise winner in the 500 m at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck when he beat the favorite in that distance, reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Grishin, by half a second. His coach at the time was Leo Freisinger, the 500 m bronze medal winner of the 1936 Winter Olympics.[2] McDermott's international career consisted exclusively of the 500 m at the Olympic Winter Games of 1960, 1964 and 1968. In 1968 he skated in unfavorable conditions, late in the day when the sun melted the ice. Yet he finished only 0.2 seconds behind the winner.[1]
McDermott was inducted in the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on June 4, 1977.[4] At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, McDermott took the Olympic Oath representing the judges.[1]
McDermott worked as a barber from 1963 to 1967, and after that as a manufacturer's representative in the Detroit area. In parallel he served as a speed skating official.[1] On February 9, 1964, he was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, an appearance that was overshadowed by the first U.S. performance of The Beatles.[3] He currently resides in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is married to Virginia,[5] and has 5 children and an elder sister Marilyn.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Richard Terrance "Terry" McDermott". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
- ^ a b File:Leo Freisinger and Terry McDermott 1964.jpg
- ^ a b Essexville's Terry McDermott shocked the world with Olympic gold in 1964 Games MLive.com, February 11, 2010
- ^ SPEED SKATERS. nationalspeedskatingmuseum.org
- ^ File:Virginia McDermott 1964.jpg
- ^ Terry McDermott. Essexville, Bay County, MI / BAY-JOURNAL
External links
- Eng, Trond. All Time International Championships, Complete results 1889–2002. Askim, Norway, WSSSA Skøytenytt, 2002.
- Terry McDermott at SkateResults.com
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- 1940 births
- Living people
- American male speed skaters
- Olympic speed skaters of the United States
- Speed skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics
- Speed skaters at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- Sportspeople from Michigan
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in speed skating
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in speed skating
- Olympic officials
- Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- American Winter Olympic medalist stubs
- American speed skating biography stubs