The 1975 Canadian Figure Skating Championships

Photo courtesy Bibliothèque de Québec.

"Please Mr. Postman" by The Carpenters topped the music charts, the game show"Wheel Of Fortune" made its television debut, newspapers teemed with stories on The Watergate Scandal. The year was 1975 and from January 29 to February 2, many of Canada's best figure skaters gathered in Québec City to compete in the Canadian Figure Skating Championships. It was the first time in history that the capital city of the province of Quebec had played host to the Canadian Championships. Twenty committees comprised of members from the province's twenty three skating clubs worked feverishly to make the event a success... with the help of a measly three hundred and seventy-eight dollar government grant.

In an attempt to improve transportation (an issue at the 1974 Canadian Championships in Moncton) a shuttle was arranged to transport skaters from the luxurious Hilton Hotel to the event venue, the Colisée de Québec on boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel. Blue and red hockey lines were painted over the ice to make the venue more aesthetically appealing for CTV's television coverage. A meeting between representatives of the CFSA and PSAC (Professional Skating Association of Canada) was even arranged, where coaches Sheldon Galbraith, Kerry Leitch, Bette Maden and Brenda Evelyn hoped to propose a (then controversial) merger. Pierrette Paquin Devine, one of the judges, was "personally proud to be the only judge in Quebec, the only French-Canadian judge." The local press latched onto the idea that Quebec skaters would be 'screwed' because they only had one judge on the panel. Considering the fact not a single skater from the province had made the national team five years earlier, the fact that ten skaters had qualified for the event through Divisionals was viewed as quite the accomplishment... and the event was expected to be both a success and a building block for the development of skating in the province of Quebec. Mother Nature had other plans.

Jean-Guy Rochon and Robert Gagnon discussing the event in front of a section of empty seats. Photo courtesy Bibliothèque de Québec.

On the first day of the competition, a massive snowstorm caused organizers to cancel the Opening Ceremonies and delay the event's start by fifteen minutes as many of the competitors were late arriving. They had been warned by the organizers to prepare to spend the night at the Colisée if they had to. Shelley MacLeod and Bob Knapp took the warning seriously, piling up the back of a bus from the hotel to the rink with pillows. The compulsory dances went on as scheduled, with only a handful of spectators in the seats.

The show went on despite the weather and at the conclusion of the event, some fourteen thousand, three hundred tickets had been sold. Unfortunately, these numbers just weren't enough... and the event ended with a fifteen thousand dollar deficit. Following the competition, Robert Gagnon, the chair of the event's organizing committee, told reporter Jacques Arteau, "It's no glory for Quebec. Okay, we have nothing to pay for our pockets, but this is the first deficit for the Canadian Figure Skating Association." Despite the competition's unprecedented financial failure, the competition itself was quite a thrilling one. Let's take a look back at how things played out!

THE NOVICE AND JUNIOR COMPETITIONS

Twelve teams vied for the novice ice dance title. Ultimately, it was Julie Hammonds and Bruce Carmichael of the Capilano Winter Club who edged Halifax's Marie McNeil and Rob McCall for the gold. A rule in place at the time that stated teams could only compete in novice for two seasons meant that all three of the medal winning teams would have to move up to junior the following year.
The novice pairs title was won unanimously by eleven year old Sherri Baier and fifteen year old Robin Cowan, who trained with Kerry Leitch at the Preston Figure Skating Club. Cowan and Baier had only been skating together for nine months, and had qualified for Canadians by winning the Central Divisional title in Brandon two weeks earlier. In second was a young team from Oshawa, Barbara Underhill and Jim Sorochan. Vancouver's Joyce Fordyce took the novice women's title, narrowly defeating Carolyn Skoczen of Windsor. Karen Alexander, who hailed from Montreal and was toted by the local press as a medal contender, placed a disappointing tenth.

Daniel Béland. Photo courtesy Bibliothèque de Québec.

Fourteen year old Daniel Béland, who trained at the CPA Palestre Nationale under Louise Seguin, took the gold in novice men. As the only skater from Quebec to win a gold medal at the event, his success was the talk of the town. The local press suggested that he was going places, and that he'd perhaps be better off going elsewhere to train... much like Toller Cranston had. Louise Seguin responded, "I know he has talent, I do not count the hours I can give him to help him. It is quite a problem for him to train and I would not like him to be forced to confide in professionals from another province simply because he can not get more ice hours here in Quebec... We have about thirty hours a week at our disposal in various centers in sports. But it will take more time and summer schools, to allow us to target the top three places in the juniors for the next Canadian Championships."

Despite a fall, Thornhill siblings Marie-Ellen and Bernard Souche skated well enough to take the junior pairs title. Judie Jeffcott and Keith Swindlehurst of the Upper Canada Figure Skating Club came out on top of eleven other teams in the junior dance event. In the junior men's and women's events, Jim Szabo and Gary Beacom and Heather Anderson and Julie Bowerman were first and second after the school figures. Most interestingly, the top two after the figures in both events settled for silver and bronze medals overall. The winners of the respective events, Kevin Hicks of Windsor and Camille Rebus of Edmonton, both weren't even in the top four in figures... certainly a testament to both of their free skating abilities.

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Lynn Nightingale.  Photo courtesy Bibliothèque de Québec.

Nineteen year old Lynn Nightingale of the Minto Skating Club had claimed gold at the 1974 Canadians in Moncton and was considered a heavy favourite the senior women's event based on her strong sixth place finish at the 1974 World Championships in Munich. Prior to the compulsory figures, Lynn told a reporter from "La Nouvelliste", "The figures scared me to death, but I feel like I'm getting better in this area. I do not think I'm the best in the world in this discipline, but I have improved more than ever this year." Her improvements were noticeable to the judges, who placed her decisively first in that phase of the competition.

Lynn Nightingale. Photo courtesy Health and Welfare Canada.

Sixteen year old Kim Alletson, the previous year's junior Champion, skated brilliantly in the free skate... including a triple Salchow in her performance. Lynn unfortunately singled a triple Salchow attempt of her own and was disappointed with her performance, but it was enough for her to remain in top spot by almost eight points overall. The bronze medal went to Barbara Terpenning, the silver medallist in 1974.

THE PAIRS AND ICE DANCE COMPETITIONS

The heavy favourites, five time Canadian Champions Sandra and Val Bezic, were forced to withdraw from the senior pairs event due to Sandra's leg injury. Sandra and Val's withdrawal left only four teams. Candy Jones of the Cricket Club and Don Fraser of the Richmond Hill Figure Skating Club took the gold by the narrowest of margins, defeating Kathy Hutchinson and Jamie McGrigor of the Preston Figure Skating Club by one ordinal placing and 0.31 of a point. 'Skating up' in seniors, junior champions Marie-Ellen and Bernard Souche lost out on the bronze to Christine McBeth and Dennis Johnston.

Barbara Berezowski and David Porter.  Photo courtesy Bibliothèque de Québec.

Ginnie Grieco and John Rait of Toronto were forced to withdraw from the senior ice dance event as Ginnie was recovering from a bout of mononucleosis. After the five remaining teams weaved their way through the Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Kilian and the Blues OSP, Barbara Berezowski and David Porter of the Granite Club had a comfortable lead. Performing a confident free dance choreographed by Brian Foley, fifteen year old Barbara and twenty one year old David took the gold medal. After finishing second the previous three years at the Canadians to Louise and Barry Soper, who had retired, the victory was sweet. Shelley MacLeod and Bob Knapp earned a standing ovation for their free dance, but couldn't surpass Susan Carscallen and Eric Gillies for silver. Lorna Wighton and John Dowding and Debbie and Randy Burke rounded out the field. Marijane Stong, who coached Berezowski and Porter, told reporters, "Dancing draws the biggest crowds in Europe but until the last five years the skating system in Canada hasn't been geared to it. Now the trend is changing. There are a lot more good dancing teachers in Canada and it has become much more popular."

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Toller Cranston in Quebec. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission.

Four time and defending Canadian Champion, twenty five year old Toller Cranston, faced criticism from the local press for attending the Moscow Skate competition not long before the Canadian Championships. In a pre-Grand Prix era, some felt that attending autumn international competitions would cause skaters to peak at the wrong time. In an interview with a reporter from "La Presse", Toller responded, "I like to work harder at certain times, to be in excellent condition when the time is right. You can never be at the peak of your fitness 365 days a year. Off-peak periods can be beneficial anyway... People think the tension is gone, but it's not. I have to prove to myself that I am capable of delivering exceptional performances. I must prepare for this event in the same way that I would against the best opposition in the world. In fact, the tension should be stronger because people expect to see me win. "

Toller Cranston

Ron Shaver, who would have likely been Toller's chief competition, was unable to compete due to a ripped tendon. A top five finish at the 1974 World Championships in Munich pre-qualified him for the 1975 World team, allowing him the time to treat his injury at home. Toller didn't have his best showing in the school figures, but rebounded with a superb free skate to Prokofiev's "Cinderella", taking the gold with seven ordinal placings and 187.60 points to Robert Rubens' fourteen ordinal placings and 175.20 points. The bronze went to Stan Bohonek of the Granite Club.

Photos courtesy "Skating" magazine

Toller claimed that Ron's absence made defending his title difficult. He said, "In short, I was competing against myself." Following the competition, Toller wowed the crowd with an exhibition in the Parade Of Champions to Engelbert Humperdinck's "Too Beautiful To Last".

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

An American In Kyoto: The Jack B. Jost Story

Photo courtesy "Skating"" magazine

The youngest child of Emily (Talleur) and John Henry Jost, John 'Jack' Berthyl Jost Jr. was born on May 10, 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri. Jack was a late addition to the family - there was a twelve year age difference between him and his eldest sister. His father was a sign painter, his grandfather a wagon maker and his eldest sister a telephone operator. As a teenager, Jack attended Grover Cleveland High School, where he held the school's tennis record for two years in a row. He got his start on the ice at the St. Louis Skating Club around the age of fourteen, working at the rink to pay for his lessons. The head professionals at the time were Rudy and Elsie Angola. He served as the President of his high school's ice skating club and in his free time enjoyed swimming and collecting classical records and performing in an a capella music group.

Jack Jost (top row, second from right) with members of his high school tennis team

Jack's first big success in the skating world came just after World War II. At the Midwestern Championships in Cleveland in 1947, he entered the novice men's event. The day of the free skating, he took a fall so hard during his performance that he knocked himself out. He was allowed to re-skate his performance the next day and performed so brilliantly that he ended up in first place, ahead of Evy Scotvold and David Jenkins. That summer, Jack and his dance partner Mary Lou Rolfson finished second at the Summer Dance Competition in Rochester to Caryl Johns and Rex Cook. He teamed up with Caryl, the daughter of a speed skater, two years later at the Baltimore Figure Skating Club in Maryland. He had followed his coaches (the Angola's) there after graduating from high school.

Caryl and Jack trained for upwards of seven hours a day in singles, pairs and dance and took second in both Silver Dance and junior pairs at the 1950 U.S. Championships. That same year, Jack passed his Gold Figure and Freestyle Tests. In 1951, Caryl and Jack won both the U.S. junior pairs and Silver Dance titles and in passing their Gold Dance, joined an exclusive club of skaters who had passed both their Gold Figure and Gold Dance tests. 

In 1952, Caryl and Jack won the senior pairs title at the Eastern Championships and finished third in both the pairs and dance at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. The USFSA had decided to only send two pairs to the Olympics in Oslo that year, so had they finished just one spot higher they would have been sent. They were, however, sent to the World Championships in Paris, where they finished eighth in the pairs event. Their future looked promising, but fate had other ideas. Jack, then stationed as a Private at Fort Meade, was sent overseas to Japan to work as a dental assistant at an army hospital and Caryl turned professional to teach at the Milwaukee Figure Skating Club and work as a secretary at the Falk Corporation.

Jack was one of several American figure skaters drafted by the U.S. military and sent off to Asia during the Korean War. His love of the sport never waned during his time in Japan. He saw newsreel footage of his former World teammate Dick Button's professional debut before the showing of an American film and was a regular at Kyoto and Nagoya's ice rinks. In 1953, he entered and won the men's event at the Japanese Championships at the Kōrakuen Ice Palace in Tokyo. The "Asahi Shimbum" reported that he was the first "foreigner" to win the title and it was quite a big deal at the time. However, his success wasn't met with universal praise by the other American skaters who were stationed overseas with the military at the time. Don Laws later remarked, "I believed and explained to my hosts that no foreigner should compete in any National Championship, that it should be reserved exclusively for the skaters of any given country. These competitions belonged to Japan and would allow them to know who were their best. However, because the Japanese had been to World competitions and had great aspirations, they were seeking encouragement and an audience. I truly believe that, more than anything else, this offer was a gesture of generosity. It hurt me to think that some hotshot might come in to that competition and show off... Sure enough, that void was filled unfortunately American, Jack Jost, who went in and of course took first place. In my view, there was pray little gain in that win."

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

Though Jack only spent a couple of years in Japan, his influence was most certainly felt. When Tenley Albright and Hayes Alan Jenkins went on an overseas tour put on by Japan's National Skating Union and the "Asahi Shimbum" just months later, Jack joined them in the Osaka and Tokyo shows. Harry N. Keighley, then the Chairman of the USFSA International Committee wrote in "Skating" magazine, "His dance pair with a Japanese girl with whom he has been working was one of the highlights of the Osaka shows. There has never been too much interest in the dance in Japan but Jack has been working on it and the interest that now exists is due mainly to his influence." Less than a decade later, Japan sent its first pairs and dance teams to the World Championships.

"Tall, dark and handsome" Jack reached the rank of Corporal in the military and was a recipient of the Korean Service Medal and United Nation Service Medal. After his discharge in 1953, he went back to school - studying at the Dakota Business College in Fargo, North Dakota. He helped pay for his education by teaching at the Fargo-Moorhead Winter Club during the winters and the Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester, Minnesota during the summers. 

Jack went on to teach in Audobon, Pennsylvania, East Lansing, Michigan and with Kurt Oppelt at the Towne 'N Country Ice Rink in Strongsville, Ohio. He married twice and had four children, a step-son and thirteen grandchildren. His daughter Robin Neumann recalled, "He continued coaching for nearly fifty years in various cities and states around the country. He worked alongside the first pioneers of the Professional Skating Association and helped craft the current rating system for coaches. He was a brilliant technician with a keen eye for a skater's perfect form. His on-ice public persona was charming. He was a good story teller and used humorous analogies in his coaching his students rarely forgot - myself included. More importantly, he was a disciplined and brilliant technician; a stickler for excellent form."

Sadly, Jack passed away in Peoria, Arizona on December 9, 2015 at the age of eighty-five. Though he hasn't received a much recognition for his unique achievement, he certainly earned his place in the history books as the first (and only) American skater to win the Japanese men's title.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Home Sweet Home: Skaters Who Have Won Medals In Their Home Country

Participating in the Winter Olympic Games and World, European and Four Continents Championships can be a nerve-wracking experience for any skater. Add to that the added pressure and expectations of competing in your home country and that stress level triples... making a win at home all the more satisfying for any skater. In today's blog, we'll take a look back at the skaters who have managed to pull off a medal win in the Olympics and World, European and Four Continents Championships in their home countries.

OLYMPIC GAMES

Year	Medallists
1908	Madge Syers (G), Arthur Cumming (S), Madge and Edgar Syers (B), Geoffrey Hall-Say (S)
1920	(none)
1924	Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet (B)
1928	(none)
1932	Beatrix Loughran and Sherwin Badger (S), Maribel Vinson (B)
1936	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier (G), Ernst Baier (S)
1948	Hans Gerschwiler (S)
1952	(none)
1956	(none)
1960	David Jenkins (G), Carol Heiss (G), Barbara Roles (B), Nancy and Ron Ludington (B)
1964	Regine Heitzer (S)
1968	Patrick Péra (B)
1972	(none)
1976	(none)
1980	Linda Fratianne (S), Charlie Tickner (B)
1984	(none)
1988	Brian Orser (S), Elizabeth Manley (S), Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall (B)
1992	Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay (S)
1994	(none)
1998	(none)
2002	Sarah Hughes (G), Timothy Goebel (B), Michelle Kwan (B)
2006	(none)
2010	Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (G), Joannie Rochette (B)
2014	Adelina Sotnikova (G), Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (G), Team: Evgeni Plushenko, Julia Lipnitskaia, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov (G), Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (S), Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov (B)
2018	(none)

Ernst Baier and Madge Syers hold the unusual distinction of being the only two skaters to win Olympic medals in more than one discipline in Olympic Games held in their home countries - a feat that will likely never be duplicated again. They both achieved this prior to World War II, long before the days of triple and quadruple jumps and specialization in one discipline. 

Left: Madge Syers. Right: Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier.

Madge was also the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in her home country. Ernst and his partner Maxi Herber were also the first pair to achieve gold at home. The first man was David Jenkins, at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. The first and only ice dance team to win an Olympic gold medal in ice dancing at a home country Olympics were Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The first and only team to win an Olympic gold medal at home were the Russian team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games

The first North Americans to win Olympic medals at Games hosted in their home countries were David Jenkins (men), Maribel Vinson (women), Beatrix Loughran and Sherwin Badger (pairs) and Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall (dance).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

1896	Georg Sanders (B)
1897	Ulrich Salchow (S)
1898	(none)
1899	(none)
1900	(none)
1901	Ulrich Salchow (G)
1902	Madge Syers (S)
1903	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin (S)
1904	Heinrich Burger (S), Martin Gordan (B)
1905	Ulrich Salchow (G), Per Thorén (B)
1906	Gilbert Fuchs (G), Heinrich Burger (S)
1907	Max Bohatsch (S), Jenny Herz (S), Lili Kronberger (B)
1908	Lili Kronberger (G), Lidia Popova and Aleksandr Fischer (B)
1909	Ulrich Salchow (G), Lili Kronberger (G), Per Thorén (S), Valborg Lindahl and Nils Rosenius (S), Gertrud Ström and Richard Johansson (B)
1910	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger (G), Elsa Rendschmidt (S), Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson (S)
1911	Lili Kronberger (G), Werner Rittberger (S), Zsófia Méray-Horváth (S)
1912	Phyllis and James Henry Johnson (G)
1913	Fritz Kachler (G), Willy Böckl (S), Andor Szende (B), Svea Norén (B)
1914	(none)
1922	Gillis Grafström (G), Svea Norén (S)
1923	Fritz Kachler (G), Herma Szabo (G), Willy Böckl (S), Gisela Reichmann (S), Alexia and Yngvar Bryn (S)
1924	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page (S)
1925	Willy Böckl (G), Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede (G), Fritz Kachler (S), Otto Preißecker (B), Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser (B)
1926	(none)
1927	Sonja Henie (G), Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede (G), Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser (S), Karen Simensen (B)
1928	(none)
1929	Olga Orgonista and Sándor Szalay (B)
1930	Roger Turner (S), Maribel Vinson (B), Beatrix Loughran and Sherwin Badger (B)
1931	Ernst Baier (B)
1932	Montgomery Wilson (S), Constance Wilson Samuel (B)
1933	Vivi-Anne Hultén (S)
1934	Sonja Henie (G)
1935	Emília Rotter and László Szollás (G), Dénes Pataky (B), Lucy Gallo and Rezső Dillinger (B)
1936	(none)
1937	Felix Kaspar (G), Cecilia Colledge (G), Megan Taylor (S), Violet and Leslie Cliff (B)
1938	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier (G), Inge Koch and Gunther Noack (B)
1939	(none)
1947	(none)
1948	Hans Gerschwiler (S)
1949	(none)
1950	Jeannette Altwegg (S), Jennifer and John Nicks (S), Sybil Cooke and Robert Hudson (S)
1951	(none)
1952	Jacqueline du Bief (G)
1953	(none)
1954	(none)
1955	Sissy Schwarz and Kurt Oppelt (S), Hanna Eigel (B)
1956	Marika Kilius and Franz Ningel (B)
1957	David Jenkins (G), Carol Heiss (G), Tim Brown (S), Sharon McKenzie and Bert Wright (B)
1958	Alain Giletti (B)
1959	David Jenkins (G), Carol Heiss (G), Tim Brown (B), Nancy and Ron Ludington (B), Andree Anderson and Donald Jacoby (B)
1960	Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul (G), Donald Jackson (S), Maria and Otto Jelinek (S), Virginia Thompson and Bill McLachlan (S)
1962	Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman (G), Karol Divín (S)
1963	(none)
1964	Manfred Schnelldorfer (G), Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (G)
1965	Scott Ethan Allen (S), Vivian and Ronald Joseph (S), Peggy Fleming (B), Lorna Dyer and John Carrell (B)
1966	(none)
1967	Emmerich Danzer (G), Wolfgang Schwarz (S)
1968	(none)
1969	Tim Wood (G), Judy Schwomeyer and Jim Sladky (B)
1970	(none)
1971	Patrick Péra (S)
1972	Karen Magnussen (S)
1973	Ondrej Nepela (G)
1974	(none)
1975	Dorothy Hamill (S), Colleen O'Connor and Jim Millns (B)
1976	(none)
1977	Minoru Sanu (B)
1978	(none)
1979	(none)
1980	Dagmar Lurz (S)
1981	Scott Hamilton (G), David Santee (S), Elaine Zayak (S)
1982	(none)
1983	(none)
1984	Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini (G), Brian Orser (S)
1985	(none)
1986	(none)
1987	Brian Boitano (S), Debi Thomas (S), Caryn Kadavy (B), Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard (B)
1988	(none)
1989	Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay (B)
1990	Kurt Browning (G), Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler (S)
1991	(none)
1992	Kristi Yamaguchi (G), Nancy Kerrigan (S)
1993	(none)
1994	Yuka Sato (G)
1995	(none)
1996	Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz (B)
1997	(none)
1998	Michelle Kwan (G), Todd Eldredge (S), Jenni Meno and Todd Sand (S)
1999	(none)
2000	Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (G), Sarah Abitbol and Stéphane Bernadis (B)
2001	Jamie Salé and David Pelletier (G)
2002	Takeshi Honda (B), Fumie Suguri (B)
2003	Michelle Kwan (G), Timothy Goebel (S)
2004	Stefan Lindemann (B), Kati Winkler and René Lohse (B)
2005	Irina Slutskaya (G), Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (G), Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov (G), Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (S)
2006	Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon (S)
2007	Miki Ando (G), Daisuke Takahashi (S), Mao Asada (S)
2008	(none)
2009	Evan Lysacek (G), Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto (S)
2010	Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali (B)
2011	Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (S), Artur Gachinski (B)
2012	Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat (B)
2013	Patrick Chan (G), Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (S), Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (B)
2014	Yuzuru Hanyu (G), Mao Asada (G), Tatsuki Machida (S)
2015	Wenjing Sui and Cong Han (S), Qing Pang and Jian Tong (B)
2016	Ashley Wagner (S), Maia and Alex Shibutani (S), Madison Chock and Evan Bates (B)
2017	(none)
2018	(none)
2019	Yuzuru Hanyu (S)
2021	(none)

Prior to World War II, it was the norm that World Championships for each discipline were held in different locations. Madge Syers, ever the history-maker, holds the distinction of being the first woman to win a medal at the World Championships in her home country. She achieved this at the 1902 Worlds in London in the men's event. The first women to win a World medal in the women's event at home were Jenny Herz and Lili Kronberger in 1907.

Fritz Kachler

The years 1913 and 1925 are of great historical significance. They mark the only two times in history that skaters have swept the podium in their home country. Fritz Kachler, Willy Böckl and Andor Szende all represented the Austro-Hungarian Empire when this was first achieved in 1913. Böckl, Kachler and Otto Preißecker represented Austria when they swept the podium at home in 1925. 

Constance and Montgomery Wilson. Photo courtesy City of Toronto Archives.

The first Canadians to win medals at World Championships held in Canada were Montgomery Wilson (1932), Constance Wilson Samuel (1932), Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul (1960), Maria and Otto Jelinek (1960) and Virginia Thompson and Bill McLachlan (1960).

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov at the 2005 World Championships

The first man to win a World title in his home country was Ulrich Salchow in 1901. The first woman  was Lili Kronberger in 1908. The first pair were Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger in 1910. The first ice dancers were Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman in 1962. Interestingly, only two other ice dance teams have won gold at Worlds held in their home country since: Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat in 2000 and Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov in 2005.

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Year	Medallists
1891	Oskar Uhlig (G), A. Schmitson (S), Franz Zilly (B)
1892	Eduard Engelmann Jr. (G), Tibor von Földváry (S), Georg Zachariades (B)
1893	(none)
1894	Eduard Engelmann Jr. (G), Gustav Hügel (S), Tibor von Földváry (B)
1895	Tibor von Földváry (G), Gustav Hügel (S)
1898	Johan Peter Lefstad (S), Oscar Holthe (B)
1899	(none)
1900	(none)
1901	Gustav Hügel (G)
1904	(none)`
1905	Heinrich Burger (S), Karl Zenger (B)
1906	(none)
1907	Gilbert Fuchs (S)
1908	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin (S)
1909	(none)
1910	Werner Rittberger (S)
1911	Karl Ollo (S)
1912	Gösta Sandahl (G)
1913	(none)
1914	Fritz Kachler (G), Willy Böckl (B)
1922	(none)
1923	Martin Stixrud (S)
1924	(none)
1925	Werner Rittberger (S)
1926	Georges Gautschi (B)
1927	Willy Böckl (G), Hugo Distler (S), Karl Schäfer (B)
1928	(none)
1929	Georges Gautschi (S)
1930	(none)
1931	Karl Schäfer (G), Fritzi Burger (S), Hugo Distler (B), Hilde Holovsky (B), Lilly (Scholz) Gaillard and Willy Petter (B)
1932	Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet (G)
1933	Cecilia Colledge (S), Mollie Phillips and Rodney Murdoch (B)
1934	Karl Schäfer (G)
1935	(none)
1936	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier (G), Ernst Baier (B)
1937	(none)
1938	(none)
1939	Cecilia Colledge (G), Megan Taylor (S), Daphne Walker (B)
1947	Hans Gerschwiler (G)
1948	Ája Zanová (G), Blažena Knittlová and Karel Vosátka (S)
1949	(none)
1950	(none)
1951	Elyane Steinemann and André Calame (S)
1952	Hellmut Seibt (G)
1953	Gundi Busch (S), Freimut Stein (B)
1954	Carlo Fassi (G)
1955	Marianna and László Nagy (G)
1956	Alain Giletti (G)
1957	Hanna Eigel (G), Ingrid Wendl (S), Hanna Walter (B)
1958	Karol Divín (G), Věra Suchánková and Zdeněk Doležal (G)
1959	(none)
1960	Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (G), Manfred Schnelldorfer (B), Margret Göbl and Franz Ningel (B)
1961	Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (G), Margret Göbl and Franz Ningel (S), Manfred Schnelldorfer (B)
1962	(none)
1963	(none)
1964	Alain Calmat (G), Nicole Hassler (B)
1965	Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov (G), Tatiana Zhuk and Aleksandr Gorelik (B)
1966	Ondrej Nepela (B), Jitka Babická and Jaromír Holan (B)
1967	(none)
1968	(none)
1969	(none)
1970	Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov (G), Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov (G), Ludmila Smirnova and Andrei Suraikin (S), Tatiana Voitiuk and Viacheslav Zhigalin (B)
1971	(none)
1972	(none)
1973	Angelika and Erich Buck (S), Almut Lehmann and Herbert Wiesinger (B)
1974	(none)
1975	(none)
1976	(none)
1977	(none)
1978	(none)
1979	(none)
1980	(none)
1981	Claudia Kristofics-Binder (B)
1982	Jean-Christophe Simond (S)
1983	Norbert Schramm (G), Claudia Leistner (B)
1984	(none)
1985	(none)
1986	(none)
1987	(none)
1988	(none)
1989	(none)
1990	Viktor Petrenko (G), Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (G), Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (G), Natalia Lebedeva (S), Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov (S), Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin (S), Viacheslav Zagorodniuk (B), Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev (B)
1991	(none)
1992	(none)
1993	Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko (B)
1994	(none)
1995	Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer (G)
1996	(none)
1997	Philippe Candeloro (S), Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy (B)
1998	(none)
1999	(none)
2000	(none)
2001	(none)
2002	(none)
2003	(none)
2004	Júlia Sebestyén (G)
2005	(none)
2006	Brian Joubert (B)
2007	Dorota and Mariusz Siudek (B)
2008	(none)
2009	Laura Lepistö (G), Susanna Pöykiö (B)
2010	(none)
2011	Sarah Meier (G)
2012	(none)
2013	(none)
2014	(none)
2015	(none)
2016	(none)
2017	(none)
2018	Alina Zagitova (G), Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (G), Dmitri Aliev (S), Evgenia Medvedeva (S), Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (S), Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (S), Mikhail Kolyada (B), Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert (B), Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin (B)
2019	(none)
2020	(none)

Men have swept the podium at the European Championships in their home country four times. All of these sweeps took place prior to World War II (1891, 1892, 1894 and 1927) and were by skaters representing either Austria or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

Willy Böckl led an Austrian sweep of the men's podium at the 1927 European Championships, held as part of the sixtieth jubilee of the Wiener Eislaufverein

Women have swept the podium at the European Championships in their home country twice. There was a British sweep in London in 1939 and an Austrian one in Vienna in 1957. The first pairs sweep at home was 1990 at the European Championships in Leningrad. The 1990 Europeans also marked the first time skaters medalled in all four disciplines at home, a feat only repeated twenty-eight years later at the 2018 Europeans in Moscow. 

Margret Göbl and Franz Ningel and Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler at the 1961 West German Championships

Also of interest are the medallists at the 1960 and 1961 Europeans, which were both held in West Germany. Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Margret Göbl and Franz Ningel and Manfred Schnelldorfer are the only skaters in history to win back-to-back medals at Europeans held in their home country.

FOUR CONTINENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Year	Medallists
1999	Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz (G), Kristy Sargeant and Kris Wirtz (S), Chantal Lefebvre and Michel Brunet (S), Elvis Stojko (B)
2000	(none)
2001	Angela Nikodinov (G), Stacey Pensgen (S), Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev (S), Michael Weiss (B), Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman (B)
2002	(none)
2003	Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (G), Min Zhang (S), Qing Pang and Jian Tong (S), Chengjiang Li (B), Dan and Hao Zhang (B)
2004	Jeffrey Buttle (G), Emanuel Sandhu (S), Cynthia Phaneuf (S), Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon (S), Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin (B), Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe (B)
2005	(none)
2006	Katy Taylor (G), Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr. (G), Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto (G), Morgan Matthews and Maxim Zavozin (S), Matt Savoie (B), Beatrisa Liang (B)
2007	Evan Lysacek (G), Kimmie Meissner (G), Emily Hughes (S), Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto (S), Jeremy Abbott (B), Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr. (B)
2008	(none)
2009	Patrick Chan (G), Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison (S), Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (S)
2010	(none)
2011	(none)
2012	Ashley Wagner (G), Meryl Davis and Charlie White (S), Caydee Denney and John Coughlin (S), Ross Miner (B), Caroline Zhang (B), Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker (B)
2013	Mao Asada (G), Yuzuru Hanyu (S), Akiko Suzuki (S), Kanako Murakami (B)
2014	(none)
2015	(none)
2016	(none)
2017	(none)
2018	(none)
2019	Madison Chock and Evan Bates (G), Vincent Zhou (B)
2020	You Young (S)

Skaters from the host country of the Four Continents Championships have managed to medal in all four disciplines at the Four Continents Championships five disciplines. The first instance of this was in Salt Lake City in 2001, when the Championships were used as a test event for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Michael Weiss, the bronze medallist in the men's event at the 2001 Four Continents Championships. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Three out of the other four instances were by Americans (2006, 2007 and 2012) while the fourth was by Canadians (2004). There have only been two medal sweeps at home in the history of the Four Continents Championships: the Chinese pairs sweep in Beijing in 2003 and the Japanese women's sweep in Osaka in 2013.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Riding The Rails With Skating Royalty

Photo courtesy National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress

In 1804, British Member of Parliament and lawyer Christopher Hely-Hutchinson drew a great crowd of admirers on the banks of the Serpentine River at Hyde Park in London. The London papers raved, "[He] sported an elegant person, and was much admired, both for his agility, and the style in which he executed the graceful figure of the 'detour a la mode'. An unnamed "fashionable gentleman" who joined Hely-Hutchinson performed "his figure to advantage, in describing a heart". Only months prior to the frost that drew Londoners out on the ice that year, the first recorded steam-hauled railway journey took place in Wales. 

The brilliant Emm Gryner's cover of Ozzy Osbourne's song "Crazy Train"

Until and even after commercial flights became 'the norm', railway travel was an often an essential means of transportation for skaters, judges and instructors around the world. Today, we'll explore seven  stories of skaters and trains - some of them very sad and others quite funny!

ALL ABOARD THE SKATE TRAIN

By World War II, taking a train to the famous Swiss skating resorts was old hat in Europe. The first American 'skate train' (modelled after the famous ski trains to Vermont and New Hampshire) left Grand Central Station in New York City on January 25, 1941 bound for Hatch Lake in Woodrow, Connecticut. Those who took the trip, mostly members of the Skating Club of New York, built log fires and had a "gay skating carnival." Ironically, later on in the War the ski trains from Boston to New England's resorts were cancelled due to bans on pleasure driving. Many skiers learned the Waltz and Tenstep at the Skating Club of Boston.

THE SAD FATE OF ICY SMITH

Icy Smith

John Frederick James 'Icy' Smith was the son of a blacksmith; the thirteenth of fourteen children. He was well-known as one of Great Britain's top ice manufacturers in the forties and fifties. He owned an ice factory on the River Wear and the Whitley Bank rink and opened the Durham rink in 1940. That same year, he began his one year term as Mayor of Durham and Darlington. 

During World War II, Canadian Air Force members stationed in the Durham area played hockey at Icy's rink. They weren't just any hockey players either - they were Boston Bruins members Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Corky Dumart. Because of the need to keep the whereabouts of allied forces under wraps, Icy was never able to advertise their exciting demonstrations. 

After the War, Icy constructed the Riverside rink from one of the few materials readily available - coffin wood! An enthusiastic skater himself, he passed the National Skating Association's Bronze Dance Test at the age of sixty. 

On January 17, 1964, at the age of eighty, Icy was struck by a train and killed near the West Jesmond railway station on the North Tyneside line in Newcastle. The January 18, 1964 issue of the "Newcastle Evening Chronicle" reported, "His body was found by a porter 400 yards north of the station on the stretch of line between Lyndhurst Avenue and Brentwood Avenue. No one saw him climbing the four-foot high palings separating the track from the road. No one saw him in the station. A police spokesman said: 'It is a complete mystery how he got there.'... Mr. Smith had disappeared from his home in Hillheads Road, Whitley Bay, hours before he was found dead."  A very sad report from the "Newcastle Journal" the following month confirmed that Icy died by misadventure, trying to cross the tracks because he might have seen a train he thought he was supposed to take. He was suffering from dementia at the time.

THE MONEY TRAIN

Had it not been for her father's success in the railway industry, perhaps Winifred 'Winnie' Tait never would lived the high life and gained membership to the exclusive Montreal Winter Club. Winnie's father, Thomas James Tait, achieved success as one of the most rich and powerful railway executives in both Canada and Australia in the early twentieth century. After serving as the manager of transportation with the Canadian Pacific Railway, he was appointed the chairman of the Commissioners of the Victorian Railways down under. It was at the Melbourne Glaciarium that Winnie first learned to skate. She went on to win a total of four medals at the Canadian Championships in fours skating, including gold in 1920 and 1921. She appeared in skating carnivals in Sherbrooke, Boston and New York with her good friend, fellow Canadian Champion Jeanne Chevalier. Winnie retired from skating after marrying John Wien Forney IV in 1925 and sadly died just ten years later in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick.

THE SAD FATE OF MRS. DE RIDDER

Simone de Ridder wasn't just any skating coach. She was the fifty one year old mother of 1948 Olympic Gold Medallist and two time World Champion Micheline Lannoy of Belgium and in her day, an excellent skater as well. She met her end in a bizarre incident on a Brussels bound train in Kitzingen, Germany in November of 1953. An article from the "Spokane Daily Chronicle" on November 18 of that year noted that "police sought a tall, thin man who was believed to have pushed Mrs. de Ridder from an international train before dawn yesterday after robbing her. The woman died without regaining consciousness. Hospital aides said she had suffered a skull fracture and internal injuries. The Kitzingen sttaion master told police that as the train rolled slowly through the yards he saw a woman clinging to a window ledge while a man tried to pry her grip loose. Trainmen found Mrs. de Rudder alongside the tracks." The saddest thing about it all? Lannoy was on her way to meet her mother at the time. A Yugolavian refugee named Stefan Matusic was charged with her murder. His defence? That he was acting under "secret orders" from British intelligence officers.

BARBARA ANN AND THE SWISS PORTER

Barbara Ann Scott and Sheldon Galbraith. Photo courtesy Library And Archives Of Canada.

Sheldon Galbraith, Barbara Ann Scott and her mother flew via London to Switzerland, where Barbara Ann was to compete in the 1947 European Championships. They made the mistake of not changing their money to Swiss francs and used almost all of their English currency to pay for Sheldon's lunch on the plane. When they arrived in Zürich to board the first of two trains to Davos, two Swiss passengers took pity on them and explained to the men at the station that they hadn't any money because they couldn't get their traveler's cheques cashed. When they switched trains, they had the awkward experience of being told off by the porter who thought them quite rude for not tipping him. In her book "Skate With Me", Barbara Ann recalled, "Then the conductor had to be dealt with. Fortunately he could speak English and he must have decided that we had fairly honest faces, for he accepted our promise to pay him at another time. Thus we reached Davos. We couldn't have done that, I suppose - travelled halfway across Switzerland in first-class compartments with no money - if I hadn't been a skating contestant, for everyone in Switzerland is interested in the skating - everyone except that porter, I guess. We've seen that same porter several times since then and have enjoyed tipping him well. Three of his front teeth are missing and when he gets the right tip he gives a great toothless grin and says, 'Yah, yah,' very cheerily. We like meeting him when we're not at a disadvantage."

COCA-COLA AND WHISKY

Jacqueline du Bief in Ice Capades, 1953

When Jacqueline du Bief decided to turn professional, she was inundated with offers to skate in shows in England and France. The offer she ultimately accepted came from an American - Ice Capades mogul John H. Harris. In her book "Thin Ice", she recalled, "He described his show to me, with all the ardour and blind love of a father-creator... The hours passed. J.H. Harris continued to talk - and every hour he picked up the telephone and called through to his secretary: 'Put back Mademoiselle du Bief's sleeping car ticket till the next train! The trains left, the hours went by and when at length - subjugated, groggy, my head buzzing with new names, figures, plans and imaginings - I signed my first contract with a trembling hand, it was 4 o'clock in the morning. Famished, we went down to the drug store on the corner and there we sealed our agreement with a hot dog and a Coca-Cola - and I caught my train." Though she'd become an Ice Capades principal, du Bief still had to adhere to the Ice Capades strict rules regarding train travel - not to be noisy or boisterous and to refrain from bringing alcohol of any kind on board. She recalled that cast members frequently played poker and Canasta on the train and got around the 'no booze on the train' rule by passing around whisky... in bottles of Coca-Cola!

OUT THE WINDOW AND THROUGH THE FIELD

Photo courtesy Dick Button

At the 1947 World Championships in Sweden, the train Dick Button, his father, Eileen Seigh and Gustave Lussi were taking to the Stockholms Allmänna Skridskoklubb broke down in the fields far from the outskirts of Stockholm. In his book "Dick Button On Skates", Button recalled, "Like characters out of a melodrama train robbery, we clambered out one of the windows in the baggage department and fled across a stubbly frozen field, ignoring the shouts of the other passengers. Fortunately, a truck [drove] into view as we reached a road. The driver had to jam on his brakes when we planted ourselves firmly to the middle of the road, with expressions on our faces that would have stopped clocks, if not trucks. We had come over five thousand miles for this competition and being run over by a truck was not to stop us now. The driver knew no English and we no Swedish, but by showing our skates and making with sign language, we convinced him it was urgent for us to reach Stockholm... We roared off at a speed that had my father holding on to his high fur hat, and Eileen clinging desperately to the rattling door as though their lives depended on it - which they did!" The American foursome arrived late and were initially told that Button was disqualified, but the mess was soon cleared up and he was allowed to compete. Dick won the silver medal behind Hans Gerschwiler; Eileen finished just off the podium in fourth.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.