| Figure skating at the V Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Olympic Games |
| Champions | |
Men's singles:  Dick Button | |
Ladies' singles:  Barbara Ann Scott | |
Pairs:  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]
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 pair of Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet became the first Belgians to win the figure skating gold medal, as well as the first Belgians to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
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]
| 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) |
| 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 entries) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
Richard Totten Button is an American former figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion and five-time consecutive World champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-European man to have become European champion. Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as the first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin, which was originally known as the "Button camel". He "brought increased athleticism" to figure skating in the years following World War II.
Three figure skating events were contested at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, but they were held in April 1920, four months before most of the other Olympic events at the 1920 Games. The figure skating competition took place at the Ice Palace of Antwerp.
Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympic Ice Rink in St. Moritz, Switzerland, between 14 and 19 February 1928. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.
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At the 1952 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. Compulsory figures were skated at the outdoor Jordal Amfi rink, while the free skating portions of the competition were held at the huge Bislett Stadium, on a regulation-sized ice surface set inside the speed skating track. The competition opened with the ladies' figures on 16 and 17 February, followed by the men's figures on 19 February and then the three free skating events for ladies, men, and pairs. Somewhat unusually for competitions of this era, there were no particular problems with bad weather or poor ice conditions at the outdoor rinks. At this competition, Dick Button won his second Olympic title, and also became the first skater to land a triple jump—a triple loop jump—in competition.
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