Famous Male Olympic Figure Skaters (Part A) - by Anne Shier (a.k.a. "Annie")

http://figureskating.about.com/od/olympiciceskatingevents/tp/olympicmen.htm

There are maybe 10 men in the world who have made figure skating history by becoming figure skating world champions and/or Olympic medalists.  These men all had something that was unique about them.  The following is a compilation of 4 of the most outstanding men in this competitive field, based on their individual uniqueness and contributions to this sport:  Evan Lysacek, Evgeni Plushenko, Elvis Stojko and Paul Wylie.

Evan Lysacek (United States):

On February 18, 2010, Evan Lysacek became the 2010 Olympic Figure Skating Champion.  At the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, Evan Lysacek won the men’s singles title.

Evan's coaches are Frank Carroll and Ken Congemi. His choreographers are Kurt Browning, Oleg Epstein and Lori Nichol. 

Evan won the senior men's title at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in 2007 and in 2008.  In 2005 Evan won the bronze medal at the United States National Championships. That bronze made it possible for him to be considered for the 2006 Olympics. In 2006, Evan placed second at the U.S. Nationals and he qualified for Torino.

In the final free skate at the 2006 Olympics, Lysacek did not skate well in the short program. He missed his triple axel and only did a double instead of a triple flip. After the short program, he was in tenth place. He skated great in the final freeskate and pulled up to fourth place overall.

Lysacek achieved a personal best at the 2006 Olympics. He skated to "Carmen" and included eight triple jumps in his long program.

Evan Lysacek won the bronze medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, he skated the performance of his life and won the U.S. Men's Figure Skating title. He won the title again in 2008.

Evgeni Plushenko (the U.S.S.R.):

Russian male figure skater Evgeni Plushenko won the Gold Medal in the 2006 Olympics.

Evgeni Plushenko can land quadruple jumps followed by triple jumps and double jumps. He has landed quad-triple-triple jump combinations at several competitons and ice skating exhibitions.

Evgeni Plushenko is the youngest male skater to receive a 6.0 score. He received that 6.0 when he was sixteen. He received seventy-five 6.0 scores before the new figure skating judging system was implemented in 2003.

Evgeni Plushenko is able to do a bielman spin which is a difficult move for male figure skaters. He is also able to do quadruple loops and quadruple lutz jumps. He is able to do triple and double jump combinations. His huge jumps dazzle audiences.

Elvis Stojko (Canada):

Elvis Stojko has won the Canadian figure skating title seven times. He also is a three-time world figure skating champion and a two-time Olympic figure skating silver medalist.

Elvis Stojko grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He began skating at the when he was four years old. He won his first figure skating trophy at the age of six. Elvis skated in Newmarket until he was nine years old. He then trained at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. He also studied karate, and earned a black belt when he was sixteen years old. At the age of seven, he began motorcross biking.

In 1991, Elvis Stojko became the first man to ever perform a quadruple toe loop, double toe loop combination jump, in a figure skating competition. Then, in 1997, he again became the first and only man to perform a quadruple toe loop, triple toe loop combination jump, in a competition. He holds two places in the Guinness Book Of World Records because of those two jump combinations.

In 1995, Stojko was presented the Meritorious Service Medal for his performance at the World Figure Skating Championships after he skated with a painful ankle injury. He received a similar award, the Meritorious Service Cross, for his performance at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

·             Canadian Male Athlete of the Year - 1997

·             Awarded Key to City of Richmond Hill - 2002

·             Inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame (2004)

Elvis Stojko began skating professionally in 2002. He briefly reinstated as an Olympic-eligible skater and planned to compete and in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, but changed his mind. He continues to perform professionally.

In 2005, he won the Canadian National Kung Fu Championship. He also has performed in movies and on television. He has served as a figure skating commentator for Canadian sports stations and supports numerous charities.

Paul Wylie (United States):

Paul Wylie won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. He competed in eleven consecutive United States National Figure Skating Championships at the senior level.

·        Wylie's Olympic long program included several triple jumps including a triple Axel, a triple flip, and triple Lutz-double toe loop combination.

Wylie's Olympic silver medal win was a surprise win since at previous international figure skating events, Wylie had not skated well. Although he placed second at the 1992 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, his inconsistent record caused him to not be chosen for the 1992 World Figure Skating Team.

In addition to competing in singles, Wylie also was a successful pairs skater. He won the U.S. National Junior Pairs Skating title with Dana Graham in 1980.

Paul Wylie graduated from Harvard University in 1991. Later, he attended Harvard Business School.

These, then, are the abbreviated biographies of 4 of the world’s most famous and outstanding Olympic and/or world champions in men’s figure skating.  No doubt, it should be obvious to anyone who reads this that these men’s lives and careers each have their own unique features and each man has made significant contributions to the sport of figure skating.  

See Famous Male Olympic Figure Skaters (Part B) for the 4 remaining abbreviated biographies:  Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser and Scott Hamilton.  Other prominent male figure skaters are the following:  John Curry, Terry Kubicka, Dick Button and Ulrich Salchow.

copyright 2014, Anne Shier.  All rights reserved.