Gillis Grafström | |
---|---|
Full name | Gillis Emanuel Grafström |
Born | Stockholm, Sweden | 7 June 1893
Died | 14 April 1938 44) Potsdam, Germany | (aged
Gillis Emanuel Grafström (7 June 1893 – 14 April 1938) was a Swedish figure skater. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden. [1] He won three successive Olympic gold medals in Men's Figure Skating (1920, 1924, 1928) as well as an Olympic silver medal in the same event in 1932, and three World Championships (1922, 1924, 1929). [2] Grafström is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. [3] He and Eddie Eagan are the only athletes to have won gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, although Eagan remains the only one to have managed the feat in different disciplines. He is one of the oldest figure skating Olympic champions.
Grafström was born in Stockholm; his younger brother Lars Grafström was also a competitive figure skater and Swedish national champion. Gilis Grafström competed in his only European Championships in 1912 and won the "senior men's" category, separate from the European champion category. He began studying at KTH Royal Institute of Technology that same year. [4] In 1914, Grafström competed at the last World Championships before the first world war. [5] He came in seventh place after falling and hitting his head. [4] While the war was ongoing, he won the men's competition at the 1917 Nordic Games. [2] [4]
After the war, Grafström won the Olympic gold medal for the first of three successive times (1920, 1924 and 1928) and the silver medal at the 1932 Winter Olympics. [6] As of the 2022 Olympics, he remains the only male figure skater to have won three individual Olympic gold medals (Sonja Henie and Irina Rodnina are other three-time Olympic Champions), and with his silver medal in 1932, is the most successful figure skater in Olympic history. At his first Olympics in Antwerp one of his skates broke, and he had to go to town to buy a new pair. Unfortunately, only curly-toed skates were available. Despite this, he was still able to win. [7]
He competed in and won three World Championships in 1922, 1924, 1929, competing only intermittently between editions of Olympic Games. At his first World Championships in 1922, he fell during the compulsory figures. However, he performed so well in the free program that he was able to move into first place. [4] In 1924, he traveled to the location of the competition, Manchester, at the last minute and skated in an exhibition before competing. Although he had won, when he needed money afterward, the Swedish federation refused his request for help; Grafström informed his club that at future competitions, he would enter as an individual rather than as a representative of Sweden. [4]
Grafström intended to compete at the 1926 World Championships. However, a document he needed to compete there was only approved by a narrow 3-2 vote, and he decided not to enter. Ulrich Salchow was unhappy with this decision, and Grafström was banned from both competitions and exhibition skating for one year. He continued training despite the ban and entered the 1928 Winter Olympics. Although he had an injured knee, he was second after the compulsory figures and won with his free skate. [4]
In 1929, he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, shared with skier Sven Utterström. [8]
At his last Olympics in 1932 in Lake Placid, he collided with a photographer on the ice and still managed to place second. [1] He later coached Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie. [9]
Grafström was one of the best skaters ever in compulsory figures [10] and also had an interest in special figures. [5] Despite the fact that they were no longer competed after WWII, he created more than fifty special figure designs, some of which were used for English figure tests. [11] He also invented the Grafström-pirouette (on the back outside edge of the blade) and the flying sit spin. He was known for very elegant skating and was famous for his interpretation of music. [1] [11]
From 1925 to his death he lived in Potsdam, Germany. He trained on the Bornstedter See (Bornstedt Lake) when it was frozen or in Berlin on the artificial ice rink at the Volkspark Friedrichshain. Grafström studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin) and worked later as an architect. He collected graphics, paintings and sculptures about skating. This collection was continued by his wife Cecilie Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1898–1995). Today this collection belongs to the World Figure Skating Museum in Colorado Springs in the United States. [5] Grafström was also a writer and an etcher. [7]
Grafström married in February 1938. Just two months later, he died in Potsdam, Germany, at the age of 44, of heart muscle inflammation, although his cause of death has often been reported as blood poisoning. [12]
Today there is a street in Potsdam named after him. [12] In 1976 he was admitted to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. [13]
Event | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summer Olympics | 1st [14] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Winter Olympics [14] | 1st | 1st | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||
World Championships | 7th | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
Nordic Championships | 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||
Swedish Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||||||||
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic champion in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. She is one of only two skaters to defend a ladies' singles Olympic title, the other being Katarina Witt, and her six European titles have only been matched by Witt.
The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After those games, the next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Chamonix 1924, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions were held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, and Haute-Savoie, France between 25 January and 5 February 1924. The Games were organized by the French Olympic Committee, and were originally reckoned as the "International Winter Sports Week." With the success of the event, it was retroactively designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as "the first Olympic Winter Games".
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
Katarina Witt is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states that "she is remembered most for her overall athleticism, her charismatic appeal and her glamorous image on the ice."
1924 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Edward Patrick Francis Eagan was an American Olympic athlete who is notable as being the only person to win gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, in different disciplines. Eagan won his summer gold in boxing and his winter gold in four-man bobsled. Few athletes have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games, and Eagan is the only athlete to have won a gold medal in each.
Figure skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics took place at the Stade Olympique in Chamonix, France, from 29 to 31 January 1924. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.
Beatrix "Trixi" Schuba is an Austrian former competitive figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She is a six-time Austrian national champion (1967–1972), a two-time European champion, a two-time World champion, and 1972 Olympic champion.
Karl Schäfer was an Austrian figure skater and swimmer. In figure skating, he became a two-time Olympic champion at the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics. He was also a seven-time World champion (1930–1936) and eight-time European champion (1929–1936). As a swimmer, he competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in the 200 metre breaststroke.
Jacob Tullin "Tulla" Thams was a Norwegian Olympian, who competed in ski jumping and sailing.
Cecil Elaine Eustace Smith, later Gooderham, then Hedstrom, was a Canadian figure skater. In 1924 she became the first female figure skater to represent Canada at Winter Olympics; she placed sixth individually and seventh in pairs, together with Melville Rogers. At the 1928 Winter Olympics she finished fifth individually. In 1930, she won the silver medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in singles.
Sven "Uttern" Ludvig Utterström was a Swedish skier who competed in cross-country skiing.
Vivi-Anne Hultén was a Swedish figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She was the 1936 Olympic bronze medalist, a four-time World medalist, a two-time European bronze medalist, and a ten-time Swedish national champion.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had previously been held at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and was also part of the first Winter Games in 1924. The competition was held from Tuesday, 14 February to Friday, 17 February 1928. Seventeen figure skaters from ten nations competed.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 as well as at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928. The competition was held on Monday 8 February and on Tuesday 9 February 1932. Twelve figure skaters from eight nations competed.
Thomas Dow "Tyke" Richardson OBE was a British competitive pair skater, author and judge.
To this day, there are two individuals considered the best at this art: Gillis Grafström of Sweden, who was the men's Olympic champion in 1920, 1923, and 1928, and Beatrix "Trixi" Schuba of Austria, who was the women's Olympic champion in 1972.