John Nicks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | John Allen Wisden Nicks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 22 April 1929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former partner | Jennifer Nicks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 1953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
John Allen Wisden Nicks (born 22 April 1929) is a British figure skating coach and former pair skater. With his sister, Jennifer Nicks, he is the 1953 World champion. As a coach, his skating pupils have included Peggy Fleming, pairs team Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Kristi Yamaguchi, Paul Wylie, Sasha Cohen, Rory Flack and Ashley Wagner.
Nicks, the son of a sporting goods store owner, grew up in Brighton, England. [1] [2] He is the brother of Jennifer Nicks. [1] Nicks moved to the United States in the 1960s with his wife Denise, son Christopher and daughter Carolyn and was briefly an undocumented immigrant but received his green card a few weeks later. [1] He married American former ice dancer Yvonne Littlefield. [3] He became a U.S. citizen around 2008. [1]
Nicks began skating at age 10 or 11 after his father – who knew nothing about skating but wanted to sell skating equipment – put him in skates in order to learn more about them. [1] John and Jennifer competed initially as singles skaters but agreed to train together in pair skating upon the request of the British association, which promised to support them. [1] They made their first Olympic appearance at the 1948 Winter Olympics, where they finished 8th. Recalling the competition in a January 2013 interview, John said, "it was snowing so much they had to stop the skating after every three skaters to clear the snow." [1] He was impressed by the American skaters at the event, in particular Dick Button – this would later influence his decision to come to the United States. [1]
The Nicks siblings won the first of their four World medals, silver, at the 1950 World Championships. They won World bronze the next two seasons and competed at their second Olympics in 1952, where they finished 4th. The pair won gold at the 1953 World Championships in Davos, Switzerland. John said, "We were skating outdoors back then, and the temperature was, like, 28 degrees during a practice. It was so cold that I remember when I was taking off my boots that my laces were frozen." [1] The siblings retired from competition after the event.
John moved to South Africa, where he skated in shows and began coaching, but moved back to England in 1960 and eventually on to Canada, coaching in Trail, British Columbia. [2] Following the February 1961 crash of Sabena Flight 548, which killed the entire US figure skating team, he received four offers of a coaching job in the United States and agreed to coach at a rink in Paramount, California owned by Frank Zamboni. [1] [2] He first appeared at the U.S. Championships as a coach in 1965. [1]
As of 2012, Nicks coaches in Aliso Viejo, California. [2] He has coached over 1,200 skaters during his career. [1] In April 2013, he said he would no longer travel but would still coach Ashley Wagner at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. [4] Nicks was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. He appeared as a judge on the 2006 FOX television program Skating with Celebrities .
His students have included:
International | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 46-47 | 47-48 | 48-49 | 49-50 | 50-51 | 51-52 | 52-53 |
Olympic | 8th | 4th | |||||
Worlds | 8th | 6th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | |
Europeans | 6th | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st |
National | |||||||
British Champ. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
The John Nicks Pairs Challenge is an annual international pair skating competition hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. It is held in September in New York City, New York. Medals are awarded on the senior and junior levels. Named in honor of British figure skating coach and former pair skater John Nicks, the event was first held in 2021. [6]
Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi is an American former competitive figure skater and author. A former competitor in women's singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first Asian American to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic competition. As a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo, she is the 1988 World Junior champion and a two-time national champion.
Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion. She is known for her artistry, flexibility and body lines, and musical interpretation. As of 2022, Cohen is the most recent American woman to medal individually in figure skating at the Olympics.
Tai Reina Babilonia is an American former pair skater. Together with Randy Gardner, she won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion, 1987 World Junior Champion, and 1996 World Bronze medalist. As a pairs skater, he competed with Kristi Yamaguchi and was the 1988 World Junior Champion and the 1989 and 1990 U.S. National Champion. He is the first openly gay skating champion in the United States, though US, World and Olympic champion Brian Boitano came out long after his career was over.
Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show produced by IMG. It was co-founded in 1986 by Bob Kain, IMG executive, and Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in men's figure skating. The production is a theatrical show featuring a small cast of elite skaters who perform together in ensemble as well as solo numbers. Hamilton retired from regular touring in 2001.
Paul Stanton Wylie is an American figure skater, and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in men's singles skating.
Randy Gardner is an American former pair skater. Together with Tai Babilonia, he won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
Rafael Arutyunyan is an Armenian-American figure skating coach. He has coached in Armenia, Russia and the United States.
Ashley Elisabeth Wagner is an American former figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, winner of five Grand Prix events, and a three-time U.S. national champion.
Rockne Lee Brubaker, II is an American former competitive pair skater. With Keauna McLaughlin, he is the 2010 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2007 World Junior champion, and a two-time (2008–2009) U.S. national champion. With Mary Beth Marley, he is the 2012 Four Continents bronze medalist and 2012 U.S. silver medalist.
Michael Novales is a Filipino figure skater. At the 2006 Four Continents Championships, where he placed 14th, he became the first skater to represent the Philippines in an International Skating Union (ISU) championship.
Jennifer Mary Nicks was a British pair skater. She competed with brother John Nicks. In 1953, the two won Great Britain's only World and European titles in pair skating, after having placed fourth at the 1952 Winter Olympics.
Vivian Joseph is an American former pair skater who competed with her brother, Ronald Joseph. They are the 1964 Olympic bronze medalists, 1965 World silver medalists, and 1965 North American champions.
Ronald Joseph is an American former pair skater who competed with his sister, Vivian Joseph. They are the 1964 Olympic bronze medalists, 1965 World silver medalists, and 1965 North American champions.
Peter Dunfield was a Canadian figure skater and coach. He competed in four skating, winning the 1949 North American silver medal, and single skating. He is best known for coaching Elizabeth Manley to the 1988 Olympic silver medal.
Marissa Castelli is an American retired pair skater. With her skating partner, Mervin Tran, she is the 2017 U.S. national silver medalist.
Rory Flack (Flack-Mitchell) is a professional figure skater and former competitor. She is the first African American woman to perform a back flip on the ice in 1991 In 1994 she became the first African American woman to win the US Open Professional Figure Skating Championships. She is very well known for her signature Russian splits.
Courtney Hicks is an American figure skater. She has won two medals on the Grand Prix series—silver at the 2015 NHK Trophy and bronze at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup—and two medals on the ISU Challenger Series. She took gold at two other senior internationals, the 2013 Ice Challenge and U.S. Classic.
Mary Beth Marley is an American pair skater. With former partner Rockne Brubaker, she is the 2012 Four Continents bronze medalist and 2012 U.S. silver medalist. Previously, Marley competed in single skating and became the 2009 U.S. novice silver medalist.
Karen Chen is an American figure skater. She is a 2022 Olympic Games team event silver medalist, two-time CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist, the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, the 2017 U.S. national champion, 2022 U.S. national silver medalist, and a three-time U.S. national bronze medalist. She is currently a student at Cornell University.