About the Athletes
MEN
Sherwin Badger
Class of 1976
Sherwin Badger was five times United States Men's Champion from 1920 through 1924. He also has the distinction of being the first United States Junior Men's Champion in 1918 and the first North American Men's Champion in 1923.
In 1928 he began skating pairs with Beatrix Loughran. They won the first of three United States Pair's Championships in 1930. At the Worlds that year they captured the bronze medal. Badger and Loughran finished second in the pairs event at the 1932 Olympic Winter Games narrowly being defeated by the defending champions, the Brunet’s.
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Badger became First Vice President of USFSA in 1927, and in 1930 the fourth USFSA President. He served in this position until 1932. During this time he was still an active competitor. In 1934 and 1935 he again served as President. Subsequently he chaired the Eastern, Sanctions and Judges Committees and was a member of the USFSA Executive Committee for 22 years.
Irving Brokaw
Elected 1976
Irving Brokaw did much to introduce and promote the “International Style,” or modern form of skating, in North America. This style was originally demonstrated in America and Europe by Jackson Haines in the 1860s but did not reappear in America until after 1900. Brokaw had traveled together with George Browne to Europe and studied the international style. They skated, wrote about, and promoted the international style in America through demonstrations and exhibitions. Brokaw also wrote "The Art of Skating" in 1910 promoting the style.
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In 1906 Irving Brokaw won the title “Champion of America.” Two years later, in 1908, he represented the United States in the first figure skating event held as part of the Olympic Games. This was the first time a competitor from the United States had entered international competition. He finished 6th in the men’s event. Brokaw continued to actively skate for many years, winning the 1921 United States Fourteenstep Dance title with Gertrude Cheever. Later in 1923, Brokaw was elected an Honorary President of the USFSA. His skates were presented as a trophy in his memory to the USFSA in 1941. This trophy is for the United States Junior Men’s Championship and continues in use today.
Richard T. Button
Elected 1976
Dick Button, one of the pioneers of modern free skating, compiled a competition record that will never be equaled. In his first competition, the novice men's event at the 1943 Eastern Sectional Championships, he placed second. From that point forward, he never lost a sectional or U.S. championship in which he competed. He won the 1944 U.S. novice and 1945 U.S. junior titles and captured seven U.S. championships in a row (1946–52). Button also skated pairs with Barbara Jones, winning the 1946 U.S. junior title at Eastern Sectionals.
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1948 was a stellar year for Button. He won the European Championships, earning the distinction of being the first and last North American to win that title, as it became closed to skaters outside Europe the following year. In St. Moritz, Switzerland, that year, Button became the first Olympic figure skating champion from the United States, winning the first of his two Olympic gold medals. He also won his first of five consecutive World titles (1948–52), having earned a silver medal at the World Championships in 1947. In all, Button was the U.S., European, World, and Olympic champion in 1948, an unparalleled achievement that can never be duplicated.
Button successfully defended his Olympic title in 1952 while an honors student at Harvard University. He went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.
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Throughout his competitive career, Button accomplished many "firsts," including being the first skater to execute a double Axel, three consecutive double loops, a triple loop, and a flying camel.
Hayes Alan Jenkins
Eelected 1976
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Hayes won his first national gold medal in 1948 when he gained the United States Junior Men's title. As Junior Champion, he entered his first World Championship in 1949, placing sixth. In the succeeding 1949 United States Championship, he won the bronze medal behind James Grogan and Dick Button. It was not until 1953 after Dick Button's retirement from competition that Hayes won his first United States Senior Men's title and his first World Championship.
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In addition to being United States Champion four times (1953-1956), Jenkins was twice North American Champion (1953, 1955) and four times World Champion (1953-1956). He culminated his competitive career by winning the 1956 Olympic Championship. On that occasion, the three medal winners in the Men's event were all from the United States. Ronald Robertson won the silver medal, and Hayes' brother David won the bronze.
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Following the end of Hayes' competitive career, he went on to Harvard Law School and is now a successful lawyer. He married Carol Heiss, herself an Olympic Gold medalist and member of the Hall of Fame.
David Jenkins
Elected 1976
No combination of brothers can ever equal the record established by David Jenkins and his older brother, Hayes. Taking up where his brother left off, David succeeded Hayes not only as the United States Champion, but also as the World, Olympic, and North American titleholder.
Beginning his competitive career in the era of Dick Button and subsequently that of his brother, David served a long apprenticeship in his climb to the top. First, entering Sectional competition in 1947 and National competition in 1949, he did not win his first title until he took the Midwestern Senior Men's in 1953. His only Sectional title. The same year he finally won the Junior Men's National title.
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David won his first national and international championships in 1957, starting with North American and World titles, followed by the United States Championship, all vacated by his brother Hayes. He won the National Championship for 4 consecutive years through 1960, and Worlds in 1958 and 1959. His competitive career was capped by winning the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal. It was the first time a brother ever succeeded a brother as a gold medal winner in an Olympic figure skating event.
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Truly one of the great free skaters, he routinely included in his program more than one triple jump, which was not general practice at the time. His development of the technique of the triple jump brought new levels of athleticism to free skating. A trend begun by Dick Button, carried on by Hayes, and refined by David.
Nathaniel Niles
Elected 1978
Nathaniel Niles won his first skating title in 1914 in the Waltz event at the first National Championship with his partner Theresa Weld Blanchard. In the same championship, he placed third in the men’s event and second in pairs with Blanchard. This began a competitive career that lasted 18 years. In 1918 Niles won the first of three United States Men’s and nine Pairs Championships. He won the men’s title again in 1925 and 1927. His pairs titles remained unbroken through 1927.
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At the 1920 Olympic Games, Nathaniel Niles and Theresa Weld Blanchard constituted the entire U.S. team. Niles placed sixth in the men’s event and fourth in pairs. He continued to compete in both singles and pairs in the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympic Games. The 1932 World Championship was Niles’ last competition. He also served as USFSA Vice President from 1925 to 1928, as a member of the Executive Committee from 1923 to 1932, and the first editor of SKATING magazine. Nathaniel Niles died unexpectedly, in 1932, at the age of 45.
Scott Hamilton
Elected 1990
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Perhaps no one so dominated the men’s international scene in the early 1980s as did Scott Hamilton. His amateur career was one marked with outstanding success and culminated with a string of 17 straight victories, including four consecutive United States (1981–1984) and World titles (1981–1984), plus the Olympic gold medal (1984).
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Scott initially began to skate for recreation and therapy after a childhood illness. He joined the 1980 U.S. Olympic team after placing third at Nationals. In Lake Placid he was selected to be the official flag bearer for the U.S. Delegation, partially in honor of the personal obstacles he had overcome. Hamilton finished fifth at both the Olympics and the ensuing Worlds.
His fourth U.S. Title in 1984 placed him on the U.S. Olympic Team. As three-time World Champion the expectations for a win were great. He began by winning the figures portion of the competition, then placed second in the short program behind Brian Orser. Though placing second in the long program, he retained the lead because of the figures and was awarded the gold medal. Determined to complete his amateur career with one last gold medal, he traveled to Worlds. Taking first in figures and the short program guaranteed the win and a fourth World gold medal.
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He was given the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Southland Olympia Award for outstanding 1984 amateur athlete and in 1987 the ISU Jacques Favart Trophy for his contribution to the sport.
James Grogan
Elected 1991
James Grogan was a four-time national silver medalist in 1948-1949 and 1951-1952. He represented the United States on six World Teams and two Olympic Teams, winning four World silver medals from 1951 through 1954.
In 1952, he was third behind Dick Button and Helmut Seibt (Austria) to win the Olympic bronze medal. Following the Olympics, the men’s U.S. Team swept the medals for the first time at the World Championships. Grogan captured the silver medal behind Dick Button, with Hayes Alan Jenkins receiving the bronze medal.
Charlie Tickner
Elected 1991
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Charlie Tickner moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1972 to study with the well-known coach Norma Sahlin. Within a year, he was participating in national and international competitions. In 1977 he won the first of four U.S. National Men’s Championships (1977–1980). That same year he placed a respectable fifth at Worlds. The next year he captured the World gold medal. Tickner was unable to retain the gold the following year, placing fourth at Worlds.
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At the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, it was anticipated that Charlie Tickner would win the gold medal. But a fifth place in figures effectively put him out of the fight for the medal. Tickner, who was third in the free skating, captured the bronze. He was again third at the following World Championship. Immediately after, he signed a contract with the Ice Capades through 1985.
Tim Wood
Elected 1993
Tim Wood became U.S. National Men’s Champion in 1968 for the first time. Wood had been the Novice Champion in 1962 and Junior Champion in 1964. He retained the Senior title for three consecutive years. At the 1968 Olympic Winter Games, he narrowly lost the gold medal to Wolfgang Schwarz in a 5 to 4 decision. The following Worlds, he also captured a silver medal.
Returning to the World Championship in 1969, Tim Wood won the first gold medal for the United States since 1959. He successfully defended his title in 1970.
Roger F. Turner
Elected 1994
Roger Turner was the 1926 U.S. Junior Men’s Champion and the 1934 U.S. Junior Pair Champion with his partner, Polly Blodgett. From 1928 to 1934 he was Men's National Champion, a seven-year record he shares with Dick Button. He was also a two-time World silver medalist in 1930 and 1931.
Robin Lee
Elected 1995
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Before he was 20, Robin Lee won five consecutive U.S. National Men’s titles (1935-1939). At 12, he had won the Junior Men’s title. Lee was a World Team member in 1932 and 1936. He placed ninth and eighth, respectively. At the 1936 Winter Olympic Games, he placed 12th. He was selected to compete in the 1940 Winter Olympics, but they were canceled because of World War II.
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After the war, Lee performed with ice shows and later became a coach. He retired as an instructor from the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis in 1991.
Brian Boitano
Elected 1996
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Entering the senior ranks for the first time at the 1980 U.S. Championships, Brian Boitano placed fifth and was named Olympic alternate. The next year, moving up again, he was in fourth place. In 1983 he placed second to Scott Hamilton and was named to the 1983 World Team. He did not win his first senior title until 1985. Brian Boitano reigned as U.S. Men’s champion for four consecutive years (1985–1988).
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He also won the World title in 1986 and 1988, as well as a bronze and silver medal at the 1985 and 1987 World Championships respectively. With a win at the 1988 U.S. Nationals Boitano headed to the Olympic Winter Games. The battle that followed between Boitano and Orser (CAN) was dubbed "The Battle of the Brians". Orser won the short program with Boitano in second with only a small margin separating them. Whoever skated the best long program would win. Brian won and took his place as Olympic Champion.
Boitano began competing professionally following the 1988 World Championships, however, he was reinstated for the 1994 season where he won the silver medal at the 1994 U.S. Championships and finished sixth at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games.
John Misha Petkevich
Elected 1999
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John Petkevich was the U.S. National Junior Champion in 1966. He captured the U.S. Senior men's bronze medal in 1968, and the silver medal in 1969 and 1970. In 1971, he became the U.S. Champion. Unable to repeat as Champion in 1972, he placed second behind Ken Shelley.
John was a four-time member of the U.S. World Team and a two-time member of the U.S. Olympic Team, placing fourth at the 1972 Worlds and fifth at the 1972 Olympics.
SCOTT ALLEN
Elected 2000
In 1964 Scott, after having been the U.S. Silver medalist for two years in a row, became the U.S. Men's Champion. Only three years after the 1961 plane crash that killed the entire US World team he won the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Winter Games. This victory provided a much-needed boost to U.S. Men's skating. He was the World silver medalist in 1965.
Arthur Vaughn
Elected 2001
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Arthur Vaughn won the 1938 U.S. novice title and the 1930 junior title. He then claimed the 1941 Senior silver medal and the 1942 bronze medal before adding the 1943 Senior title to his list of accomplishments. Vaughn and his sister Jane hold the distinction of being the only brother and sister to be U.S. Champions.
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World War Two caused the cancellation of figure skating events worldwide, prohibiting him from competing in international competitions. Vaughn continued to contribute to the sport by serving as a national judge from 1943 to 1960.
Gary Visconti
Elected 2001
Five-time U.S. medalist from 1965 to 1969, Gary Visconti was a dominant name in U.S. men’s skating during the mid-sixties. Visconti captured the U.S. title in 1965 and 1967. He represented the U.S. at five World Championships, capturing two bronze medals, one in 1966 and the other in 1967.
Paul Wylie
Elected 2007
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Paul Wylie began skating at age 3 in Texas after watching his two older sisters on the ice. Wylie was a talented single and pairs skater, winning the U.S. junior pairs title in 1980 with Dana Graham. After 1981, Wylie focused solely on singles and was the U.S. junior and World Junior champion in 1981. He won three silver and two bronze medals at the U.S. Championships from 1988 to 1992. Wylie was a member of three U.S. World teams ('88, '90, and '91) and two Olympic teams ('88, '92). The pinnacle of Wylie's career came when he won his silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games, and he acknowledged that his career changed overnight after winning this title. His longtime coaches were Evy and Mary Scotvold.
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He skated professionally from 1992–98, winning several championship titles. Wylie remains active with skating through the annual "Evening with Champions," a Jimmy Fund cancer benefit, commentating for ESPN, working as a guest coach, and mentoring elite U.S. skaters.
Todd Eldredge
Elected 2008
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Todd Eldredge, a native of Chatham, Mass., enjoyed an amateur career spanning almost 20 years. Eldredge won his first major medal as the novice silver medalist at the 1984 U.S. Championships and won the novice title the following year. He was the 1987 U.S. junior champion. He won eight senior medals at the U.S. Championships including six championship titles (’90, ’91, ’95, ’97, ’98, and ’02) and six World medals (’91, ’92, ’95, ’96, ’97, and ’01) which included gold in ’96.
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Eldredge considers his 1996 free skate at the World Championships the biggest breakthrough and comeback performance of his career and placed it ahead of his mother’s neck in show of appreciation. He also credits the residents of Chatham, who banded together in 1983 and raised money over the years to help him pursue his skating career with his longtime coach, Richard Callaghan. He was a member of three Olympic teams (’92, ’98, and ’02). Eldredge competed professionally and skated several years with “Stars on Ice.”
Rudy Galindo
Elected in 2013
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Rudy Galindo is a three-time U.S. champion, winning the men’s title in 1996 and earning pairs titles in 1989 and 1990 with partner Kristi Yamaguchi. At the time of his induction, he was the only skater to hold World Junior titles in both disciplines (1987 men, 1988 pairs).
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Galindo will long be remembered for his stellar performance at the 1996 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. At that time, the 26-year-old Galindo had retired from competitive skating, having finished no higher than fifth place in seven previous U.S. Championships.
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Enduring economic hardships and the death of his father, followed by the losses of his brother and two coaches to AIDS, Galindo had no desire to compete. However, when he learned the U.S. Championships were to be held in his hometown of San Jose, California, he returned to the ice with his sister, Laura, as coach. With only three months to prepare, Galindo’s stunning upset of reigning champion Todd Eldredge is considered one of the greatest moments in U.S. Championships history.
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Galindo is the first openly gay and first Latino skater to win a U.S. title. Months after this memorable victory, Galindo earned the bronze medal at his first World Championships. He retired soon after, skated in professional shows, and later became a coach in his native Bay Area.
Terry Kubicka
Elected in 2014
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A three-time World Team member, Terry Kubicka won the 1976 U.S. title and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.
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At the 1974 U.S. Championships, Kubicka became the first American to land a triple Lutz in competition. He is the only skater to perform a legal backflip in competition before the element was banned following the 1976 World Championships.
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Kubicka skated his entire amateur career under coach Evy Scotvold. After ending his competitive career, Kubicka toured with Ice Capades for three years.
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In 2005, Kubicka returned to the sport as a national and International Skating Union (ISU) technical specialist, officiating at the 2014 Four Continents Championships in Taipei, among other international competitions.
David Santee
Elected in 2015
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David Santee is a two-time Olympian, seven-time U.S. World Team member, and eight-time U.S. medalist.
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Coached by Evy and Mary Scotvold, Santee earned the 1981 World silver medal and finished fourth at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. During his 10 seasons as a senior competitor, Santee stood on the U.S. Championships podium eight times.
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Following his skating career, Santee became a certified technical specialist and served in that role for both U.S. Figure Skating and the International Skating Union (ISU). At the time of his induction, he was one of six U.S. technical specialists certified for international events and the only American certified as a data entry and video replay operator.
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At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Santee served as a data entry and video replay operator for every figure skating event.
Evan Lysacek
Inducted 2016
Evan Lysacek
U.S. Hall of Fame, Inducted 2016
Two words will always define Evan Lysacek — Olympic champion.
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With five ISU championship titles to his name, Lysacek finished his competitive career in 2010 as the most decorated U.S. male skater in two decades. A two-time Olympian, he is the 2010 Olympic champion, 2009 World champion, 2009 Grand Prix Final champion, two-time Four Continents champion, and two-time U.S. champion.
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Throughout his career, Lysacek faced tough competition both domestically and abroad in one of the most exciting eras of men’s figure skating. Lysacek’s rivals included American Johnny Weir and Russian Evgeni Plushenko, two captivating skaters with big bravados.
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Lysacek and Weir’s rivalry intensified as teammates on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team, where Lysacek finished fourth and Weir fifth in Torino, Italy.
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The season following the Games put a spotlight on the U.S. men. Weir entered the season as a three-time consecutive champion only to see Lysacek wrestle away the crown by earning his first U.S. title. Things became even more heated in 2008, when Lysacek and Weir astoundingly earned the same total points (244.77) at the U.S. Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lysacek won the tiebreaker by having a higher total in the free skate, giving him his second U.S. title.
Internationally, Plushenko proved to be a formidable foe. Entering the 2010 Vancouver Games as the defending Olympic champion, much focus was placed on Plushenko’s quadruple jump, an element missing from Lysacek’s arsenal.
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After finishing second to Plushenko in the short program, Lysacek executed a clean free skate as the 19th skater in a 24-man field. As the remaining five skaters took the ice, Lysacek was forced to wait backstage and wonder how his performance would stack up among the more technically difficult programs of his competitors. Judges rewarded him for his artistry and strong components, and Lysacek became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic title in 22 years.
Lysacek was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on Jan. 22, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was presented by his longtime coach, Frank Carroll, a member of the U.S. and World Hall of Fame.
Michael Weiss
Elected 2018
Before quadruple jumps were commonplace in men’s figure skating, Michael Weiss pushed the envelope with an unconventional style that made the skating world take notice. In his first senior-level appearance at the U.S. Championships in 1994, Weiss attempted a quadruple toe loop, which he later landed in competition at the 1999 World Championships. At the 1998 U.S. Championships, he became the first U.S. skater to attempt a quadruple Lutz on the competitive stage.
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In 2000, Weiss was named Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee, won the Professional Skaters Association's Best Men's Performance Award in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001, and was inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
A two-time Olympian and two-time World bronze medalist, he earned a top-four finish at 9 of his 13 appearances in the senior division of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, including titles in 1999, 2000, and 2003.
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Continuing to push the boundaries of the sport even after retiring from competition, Weiss pioneered “The Tornado,” a back flip with a full twist, and co-designed the “Freedom Blade,” which has a round back to encourage more creative skating. He was honored by the Professional Skaters Association with the Jimmy Disbrow Award (2010) and Gustave Lussi Award (2013).
Timothy Goebel
Inducted in 2019
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Timothy Goebel is a 2002 Olympic bronze medalist, two-time World silver medalist, and the 2001 U.S. champion. After landing the first quad Salchow in competition (1998 Junior Grand Prix Final) and being the first to land three quads in a single program (two Salchows, one toe loop at 1999 Skate America), Goebel earned the nickname “The Quad King.”
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Upon winning his second consecutive World silver medal, Goebel was named the 2003 U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year for figure skating. Goebel has served on a variety of committees within U.S. Figure Skating, including the Athletes Advisory Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and Finance Committee. Goebel has also coached and served as a technical specialist.
Johnny Weir
Elected 2021
In a career that blended athleticism, artistry, and a singularly personal style, Johnny Weir's skating journey began unceremoniously on a frozen cornfield behind his family's home in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
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He is a two-time Olympian (2006, 2010), three-time consecutive U.S. champion (2004-06), the 2008 World bronze medalist, and a two-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist (2008-09).
Weir competed during a highly competitive era in American men’s figure skating, with three of his U.S. competitors (Michael Weiss, Timothy Goebel, and Evan Lysacek) eventually becoming U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famers.
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At the 2008 U.S. Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Weir and Lysacek finished in an unimaginable tie. With Weir leading by 1.35 points after the short program, he and Lysacek finished the free skate with identical total scores of 244.77. Under the ISU tiebreaker rule, Lysacek was awarded the title because he won the free skate. Despite the silver medal, Weir earned the SKATING Readers’ Choice Award for Skater of the Year, which he won again in 2010.
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After retiring from competition in 2013, Weir began his broadcasting career as an NBC figure skating analyst, working the Grand Prix Series. After much acclaim as analysts at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Weir and partners Tara Lipinski and Terry Gannon became NBC's figure skating announcing team.
Women
Theresa Weld Blanchard
Elected 1976
Theresa Weld Blanchard was the first United States Ladies Champion in 1914 and then five more times, 1920–1924. She was also the first North American Ladies Champion in 1923. As a member of the first formal United States Olympic Team, in 1920, she won the first Olympic medal, a bronze, in figure skating for the United States. Theresa was also a member of the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Teams and a team official in 1932 and 1936.
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In addition to her activity in singles skating, Theresa was the United States Pair Champion nine times with her partner Nathaniel Niles (1918, 1920–1927), North American Pair Champion in 1925, and the first United States Dance Champion in the Waltz in 1914. She was again Waltz Champion in 1920 and 1921, then won the Original Dance title in 1931.
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Theresa Weld Blanchard also founded SKATING magazine in 1923 to establish, as she said, "some sort of official bulletin" to spread the news of the sport. The first magazine appeared in December 1923 and has since served as the official voice of the USFSA.
Maribel Vinson Owen
Elected 1976
Maribel Vinson was one of the top female competitive skaters for more than a decade and a leading instructor. She competed in her first United States Championship in 1924, winning the Junior Ladies’ title. In 1928, she won the first of nine United States Ladies’ Championships, six of them consecutive from 1928-1933. The winter of 1933 she trained in Europe and did not defend her title. Returning to the US in 1935 she regained the championship, which she held through 1937.
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Also an excellent pair skater, she won the United States Junior Pair Championship in 1927 with Thorton Coolidge, then the 1928 and 1929 Senior pair title. After Coolidge retired, she skated pairs with George E. B. Hill; together they won the Pair Championship in 1933 and from 1935 to 1937.
Maribel was a member of the 1928 Olympic team, placing 4th. That same year she was second to Sonja Henie at the World Championships. In 1930, she won the bronze medal at Worlds. Two years later, at the 1932 Olympic Winter Games, she won the bronze medal. During her stay in Europe in 1933 she entered and placed third in the European Championships, which were then open to non-Europeans. In addition, Maribel won the North American Pair Championship with Hill in 1935 and the Ladies Championship in 1937. She again represented the United States at the 1936 Olympics, placing 5th.
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Maribel Vinson turned professional in 1937 and formed a touring ice show called "Gay Blades," starring her future husband Guy Owen. She soon turned her career to coaching and first went to Minnesota, then Berkeley, California, and in 1954 permanently to Boston. Both of her daughters were skaters. Laurence was North American and United States Ladies Champion in 1961. While Maribel Junior and Dudley Richards won the United States Pair Championship and were second in the North American Pair Championship. Tragically, Maribel and both daughters were members of the 1961 World Team killed in an airplane accident at Brussels, Belgium.
Tenley Albright
Elected 1976
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In 1956, Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win the Olympic Gold medal in figure skating. She had begun skating at the age of 9, but two years later was struck with non-paralytic polio. As soon as possible she resumed skating to strengthen her weakened muscles and began competing.
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She went on to win the United States Novice Ladies’ title in 1949, the Junior Ladies’ Championship the following year, and in 1952 won the first of her five consecutive United States Ladies’ Championships. Tenley won the World Championships in 1953. Narrowly defeated by Gundi Busch of Germany in 1954, she came back to regain her title the following year. In the two years Tenley was World Champion she was also North American Ladies’ Champion.
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Following her Olympic win, she attended Radcliffe College and went on to receive her doctorate in medicine from Harvard Medical School.
Carol Heiss
Elected 1976
Carol Heiss began skating at the age of 6, and five years later (1951) was the United States Novice Ladies Champion. The following year she became the United States Junior Ladies’ Champion, the youngest skater up to that time to achieve the back-to-back double win.
In 1953 she entered her first international competitions, winning the silver medal at the North American Championships and placing 4th at the World Championships. Having been runner-up to Tenley Albright for the Senior Ladies United States Championship from 1953-1956, Carol won the first of four Ladies’ titles in 1957. She successfully defended her title through 1960.
Tenley Albright was Carol’s constant rival both at the United States Championships and the World Championships. Having placed second to Tenley in 1953, Carol missed the 1954 World event because of an injury. Again in 1955 she was second to Tenley. However, in 1956 Carol defeated Tenley, winning the first of 5 consecutive World titles.
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Carol Heiss competed in two Olympic Winter Games and won a medal in each. In 1956 she earned the silver medal, again runner-up to the rival Tenley Albright. A unanimous first-place vote from all 9 judges in 1960 gave Carol the gold medal.
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Following her retirement from competition in 1960, Carol married Hayes Alan Jenkins, an Olympic and World Champion in his own right. Now a prominent U.S. coach, Carol Heiss Jenkins continues to influence the sport of figure skating.
Peggy Fleming
Elected 1976
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When Peggy Fleming won the Olympic Championship for Ladies in 1968, she not only continued the tradition of success established by her predecessors from the United States, but her win represented the return to the top of figure skating by the United States following the loss of the entire 1961 US World Team in an airplane accident in Brussels, Belgium.
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Peggy first competed in the United States Championships in 1962 and won the silver medal in Novice Ladies. In 1963 she won the bronze medal in Junior Ladies. With the 1964 Olympic year, all the top Senior competitors were hoping for berths on the Olympic Team, including defending champion Lorraine Hanlon. Peggy was considered a possibility for the top team position, but the chance of her winning the Senior Ladies title was regarded as “odds beyond.” However, her strong third-place finish in compulsory figures and an even stronger free skating performance gave her the title and an Olympic Team berth.
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The years 1964 and 1965 were building years for Peggy in international competition, with a 7th place finish at Worlds and an 8th place in the Olympic Winter Games. In 1965 she was 2nd at Worlds and 2nd in the North American Championships, though she retained her United States title in 1965. Peggy became the World Ladies’ Champion in 1966 and successfully defended her title in 1967. She went on to win the World Championship for a third time in 1968. Thus, she completed her competitive career on a positive note following her Olympic gold medal.
Beatrix Loughran
Elected 1977
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Beatrix Loughran is the only American skater to win three Olympic medals in three different Olympic Winter Games. Beatrix placed second in 1924, third in 1928, and second in pairs with her partner Sherwin Badger in 1932. She had won her first national title in Junior Ladies in 1921, her second in 1922 after moving up to Senior Ladies, and then a year of national competition. For the next two years, she was second to Theresa Weld Blanchard. In 1925 she won the first of three Ladies Championships, a title she successfully defended in 1926 and 1927.
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Beatrix was also the first entrant from the United States in a World Championship—the 1924 Worlds. She won the bronze medal. It would not be until four years later at the 1928 Worlds that the United States would again have entrants.
Loughran retired from singles competition after the 1928 Olympics but continued to compete in pairs with her partner Sherwin Badger. They represented the United States at the 1928 Winter Olympics (placing fourth). At the World Championships following the Olympics, they placed fifth. While they did not compete in the 1929 United States Championships, Loughran and Badger returned to competition in 1930 to win the first of three consecutive Pair Championships. That year, they also placed third at the World Championships. They were again third at the 1932 Worlds. This would be their final competition.
Dorothy Hamill
Elected 1991
In 1974, Janet Lynn had retired, leaving the national Ladies title open. Dorothy Hamill, an overwhelming favorite, captured the title with a first in figures, short program, and free skating. Dorothy successfully defended the title for the next two years (1975, 1976).
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At the 1974 Worlds, before Hamill was to skate the free program, the crowd booed the marks of the previous competitor. Dorothy mistakenly thought it was directed at her. Twice, she tried to take to the ice, but to no avail. Eventually, the audience calmed down and she was able to skate, winning the free program and silver overall. She retained the silver in 1975.
Hamill skated a flawless free program at the Olympic Winter Games in 1976 to capture the gold medal. Dorothy announced her intention to retire after the Olympics but was persuaded to enter the 1976 Worlds that followed. She placed second in figures but won both the short and free programs to take her first and only World title.
Yvonne Sherman
Elected 1991
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The 1947 U.S. Junior Ladies champion, Yvonne Sherman captured her first international competition at the 1947 North American Championship, placing third. The 1948 competition season would include the first Winter Olympic Games to be held after World War II. Worlds would follow the Olympics, and then would be followed by the 1948 U.S. Nationals. This was the accepted schedule in those years. The placements at the previous year’s Nationals were used to determine the U.S. Team.
In 1948, Janet Ahrens declined one of the three ladies' positions, so a tryout was held to select the third member. Yvonne Sherman easily won. As National Pair Champion with her partner Robert Swenning, she was already a team member. Yvonne placed sixth at the Olympics and Worlds. At the following Nationals, she was the silver medalist in Senior Ladies.
In 1949, she captured the first of two U.S. titles (1949, 1950) and was the silver medalist at Worlds in 1949 and the bronze medalist in 1950.
Linda Fratianne
Elected 1993
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In 1977, Linda Fratianne won the first of four national titles (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980). At the World Championships that year, the Ladies title was open as all three of the medalists, including Dorothy Hamill, had retired. Linda captured the gold, with Anett Pötzsch (GDR) second and Dagmar Lurz (FRG) third. This was only the fifth time a U.S. lady had won.
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Linda was unable to retain the World title in 1978. Anett Pötzsch had taken the gold in a reversal of 1977. The order would reverse again in 1979 when Fratianne again claimed the gold medal with Pötzsch second. The 1980 Olympic Winter Games would again see Fratianne competing against Pötzsch. Once again, Pötzsch would beat out Fratianne for the gold. At the following Worlds, the two ladies were again against each other; unfortunately, Linda had suffered an ankle injury and placed only third.
Janet Lynn
Elected 1994
Janet Lynn won the first of five National Ladies’ Championships in 1969, retaining it through 1973. Peggy Fleming had retired in 1968, and the title was open. At the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, Beatrix Schuba dominated the competition in figures. Though Janet placed first in the free skating, she was unable to beat Schuba and received the bronze medal.
In 1972, Janet captured her first World medal, the bronze. Lynn tried one more time, in 1973, for the World title. Again, figures proved her downfall, and she was unable to capture the gold medal. She did, however, move up to silver medalist.
Barbara Ann Roles
Elected 1997
Roles captured the U.S. junior title in 1958 and followed it up with a senior bronze medal the following year, earning her first assignment to the World Championships, where she finished fifth. After securing silver at the 1960 U.S. Championships, she competed in the 1960 Winter Olympics and the World Championships, winning bronze medals at each event. She retired after that season to start a family.
Following the tragic crash of Sabena Flight 548, Roles was invited out of retirement. She accepted and clinched the gold medal at the 1962 U.S., becoming the first skater to win national titles at the novice junior, and senior levels. This achievement remained unmatched until Kimmie Meisner replicated it in 2007. After taking a break to give birth to her second child, Roles aimed for the 1964 Winter Olympics but finished fifth at the national championships and did not make the team.
She then transitioned into coaching in 1964, mentoring skaters like Lisa-Marie Allen, Wendy Burge, Nicole Bobek, Brian Pockar, Vikki DeVries, Geoff Varner, and Scott Williams.
Joan Tozzer
Elected 1997
A premiere skater in the 1930s and 1940s, Joan Tozzer was the national Novice ladies champion in 1934. She took the Junior ladies title in 1937. Then from 1938 through 1940, she was the U.S. Ladies champion. In addition to her singles’ success, she competed in pairs with Bernard Fox. They won the national Junior Pairs title in 1936 and three U.S. Pair titles (1938-1940). This made her a dual national champion for three consecutive years. She also was a member of the 1940 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team, but the advent of World War II caused the cancellation of that event.
Kristi Yamaguchi
Elected 1998
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Kristi Yamaguchi won the 1988 World Junior Championships and the U.S. Silver Medal in 1989, 1990, and 1991. She is a two-time World Champion (1991, 1992) and the 1992 Olympic gold medalist. Yamaguchi also teamed with Rudy Galindo and won the 1989 and 1990 U.S. Pair titles.
GRETCHEN MERRILL
2000
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Gretchen won her first U.S. National Ladies’ Championship in 1943. She would retain the title for the next five years, through 1948, for a total of six consecutive titles, a feat no other woman has done to date. Due to World War II there were no World or European Championships from 1940 to 1946. In 1947 Gretchen not only received the Bronze medal at Worlds, but the Silver at Europeans. Until 1949 Europeans were open to US competitors, if they had a membership in a European Club.
Debi Thomas
Elected 2000
Debi was the first African-American woman to become U.S. Ladies National Champion in 1986. That same year, she also attained the World title by defeating two-time winner Katarina Witt. The next year, she lost her U.S. title to Jill Trenary and Witt took back the World Ladies Championship, with Debi placing second. In 1988, she regained the U.S. title and won the Olympic bronze medal.
Rosalynn Sumners
Elected 2001
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Rosalynn Sumners, the 1984 Olympic silver medalist, won many titles over the length of her career, including the 1983 World title and three U.S. Championships (1982, 1983, and 1984). After retiring from competitive skating, she launched a successful professional career that included 13 years with the "Stars on Ice Tour." In addition, Rosalynn maintained a successful career as a figure skating announcer.
Jill Trenary
Elected 2002
Jill Trenary won three U.S. ladies titles in 1987, 1989, and 1990. She represented the U.S. at four World Championships, winning the 1990 World title and a bronze medal in 1989. At the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Canada, she finished fourth. The legendary Carlo Fassi coached her throughout her career.
Elaine Zayak
Elected 2003
Elaine Zayak’s competitive career includes winning the 1979 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships, the 1981 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and the 1982 World Figure Skating Championships. Over the course of her career, she won bronze and silver medals at both the U.S. and World Championships. She turned professional in 1984, but returned to the sport in 1994 when the International Skating Union allowed professionals to return to amateur competition. Zayak competed in the 1994 U.S. Championships exactly ten years after her last appearance at the championships. At the age of 28, she placed fourth and was an alternate for the 1994 U.S. Olympic Team. She again returned to the professional ranks following the 1994 season.
Nancy Kerrigan
Elected 2004
Nancy Kerrigan’s competitive record includes winning the 1991 U.S. bronze medal, the 1992 U.S. silver medal, and the 1993 U.S. Championship. At the 1991 World Championships, she was the bronze medalist, followed a year later in 1992 with the silver medal. After having captured the bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, she was a favorite to win the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She won the silver medal in the closest of contests, losing the gold to Ukrainian Oksana Baiul. With the Olympics behind her, Kerrigan turned professional to skate with the Tom Collins "Champions on Ice" tour for several years.
Catherine Machado
Elected 2005
Catherine Machado was U.S. junior champion and received the Oscar Richard Award in 1954 for the most outstanding free skating performance among junior and senior ladies. She went on to win the senior ladies bronze medal at the U.S. Championships in 1955 and 1956. Catherine was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team, and after the 1956 Olympics turned professional to skate with the Ice Capades in Europe. In 1961 she won the Ladies World Professional Championship. She has coached for over 30 years at the Culver City Arena in Culver City, California.
Tara Lipinski
Elected 2006
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Tara Lipinski holds the distinction of being the youngest ladies champion at three major figure skating competitions. At fourteen, she captured a gold medal at the 1997 U.S. Championships, as well as the World Championships. One year later, Lipinski, who was fifteen years old, became ladies figure skating champion at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, making her the youngest ladies figure skating Olympic gold medalist. She also has a place in the record book as being the first woman or man in a national or international competition to complete a triple loop/triple loop combination.
After retiring in 1998, Lipinski has pursued her passion for acting, having made her TV debut in 1997. She has also done voice work for TV and radio and appeared in major motion pictures.
Janet Gerhauser Carpenter
Elected 2007
Janet Gerhauser Carpenter has the unique distinction of being an Olympic competitor, Olympic Team Leader and Olympic Judge. She was also a National competitor in fours, singles and pairs.
At the age of 14, Janet with John Nightingale, Marilyn, and Marlyn Thomsen won the 1947 National Four title. As the St. Paul Four, they won three national titles and the North American Four title in 1949. As a single skater Janet was runner-up in National Junior Ladies in 1951. She and partner John Nightingale were US National Junior Pair champions in 1950 and twice runner-ups to the Senior title, as well as second in the 1951 North Americans. They were 6th in the 1952 Olympics and 5th in the 1952 World Championships.
After a coaching career, Janet applied to regain her amateur status, an unusual move in the 1960’s. After a required 5 year “waiting period”, she resumed judging (having previously been a high test judge) at the low test level. Eventually reaching the national and world level, she judged numerous tests, national championships, international competitions and World championships, as well as a US judge in the 1988 and 2002 Olympics. She was Team Leader at the 1984 Olympics.
An Honorary Member of the St. Paul FSC, Janet was inducted into the USFS Hall of Fame during the 2008 Nationals in St. Paul
Sonya Klopfer Dunfield
Elected 2009
In 1951, Klopfer was awarded the gold medal at the U.S. Championships. Having won at age 15, she was the youngest U.S. senior ladies' champion until Tara Lipinski won in 1997 at age 14.[3] Klopfer obtained the bronze medal in Milan at the 1951 World Championships, standing on the podium with Jeannette Altwegg and Jacqueline du Bief.
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In February 1952, Klopfer competed at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, and finished fourth at the event. Her final competition was the 1952 World Championships in Paris, France. She won silver behind du Bief and then retired from competition.
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From the early 1960s, Klopfer coached with her husband in New York City at the Sky Rink.[4] When the rink closed around 1983, they moved to the Gloucester Skating Club in Orleans, Ontario.[5] Her students included Dorothy Hamill, Elizabeth Manley,[4] Scott Smith, and Charlene Wong (from 1986 to 1990).[6] She was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2001[7] and into the Professional Skaters Association's Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sarah Hughes
Elected 2010
On February 21, 2002, Sarah Hughes became the first person to go from fourth place after the short program to winning the Olympic gold medal. At 16, Hughes executed the most technically demanding program ever seen by a lady at the Olympic Winter Games en route to becoming the seventh American woman to capture figure skating's most coveted prize. Prior to becoming Olympic champion, Hughes was the 1998 U.S. junior champion, a four-time medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and the 2001 World bronze medalist. The Yale University graduate has received many awards, including the 2002 Sullivan Award. She is involved in many philanthropic causes and has recently written for internet and print media, as well as appeared on national broadcasts covering figure skating and the Olympics.
Michelle Kwan
Elected 2012
In the 100-year history of U.S. Figure Skating, no athlete won more championships than Michelle Kwan. She earned 43 major championships, two Olympic medals, five World Championships, and nine U.S. Championships. At the time of her induction, the Torrance, Calif.-native was the only lady in figure skating history to reclaim three World titles (1998, 2000, 2003).
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Known for her precision and artistry, she received 57 perfect 6.0 marks in major competitions, the most of any singles skater in the sport's history. At the 1998 U.S. Championships, Kwan's combined programs earned 15 perfect 6.0 marks out of a possible 18. The 6.0 system was retired in 2005. Kwan's eight consecutive U.S. titles (1998-2005) and 12 consecutive U.S. medals (1994-2005) are records.
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In 2001, she won the prestigious Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete. Kwan was named the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Sports Woman of the Month a record 14 times and was honored as the 2003 USOC Sports Woman of the Year. After earning her seventh SKATING magazine Readers' Choice Award in 2003, U.S. Figure Skating renamed the award "The Michelle Kwan Trophy."
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World Championships: 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003
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Olympic Winter Games: 1998 (silver), 2002 (bronze)
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U.S. Championships: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Sasha Cohen
Elected 2016
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Sasha Cohen’s senior career spanned from 1999 to 2010, pitting her against American rivals Michelle Kwan (the most decorated skater in U.S. history) and Sarah Hughes (2002 Olympic champion). In what many have called the “golden era” of American figure skating, Cohen found her place among the best with a one-two punch of flexibility and artistic flair.
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Due to age restrictions, Cohen didn’t make her World Championships debut until 2002 — one month after earning a fourth-place finish at the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. At just 17 years old, Cohen’s tenacious and engaging personality took her to new heights of popularity, even sharing her cell phone with U.S. President George W. Bush on television during the Opening Ceremony. The following season, Cohen topped the podium at the ISU Grand Prix Final, marking the first time an American had won the ladies' title since Tara Lipinski in 1997.
Between 2003 and 2006, Cohen famously battled Kwan and Hughes for the U.S. podium, fending off up-and-coming athletes such as American Kimmie Meissner (2006 World champion). Among a deep field of impressive talent, Cohen continued to set herself apart, winning the 2006 U.S. title and the silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.
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Cohen announced her retirement from competition after the 2006 World Championships, where she earned her third career World medal. Almost four years later, she reversed her decision in an effort to make the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team. Cohen competed in just one event, the 2010 U.S. Championships, but finished fourth in a year only two U.S. ladies went to the Games.
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At the time of her 2016 U.S. Hall of Fame induction, Cohen still held top-five scores in U.S. competition for the short program (69.63 points, 2010 U.S. Championships) and free skate (134.03, 2006 U.S. Championships).
Cohen was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on Jan. 22, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was presented by her longtime coach, Mr. John Nicks, a member of the U.S. and World Hall of Fame.
Julie Lynn Holmes
Elected in 2019
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Olympian Julie Lynn Holmes is a four-time U.S. silver medalist and two-time World medalist. Holmes was a strong compulsory figure skater. Her main rival and close friend was Janet Lynn, who was U.S. ladies champion from 1969-73. While finishing second to Lynn at the 1969-72 U.S. Championships, Holmes bested Lynn at the World Championships, placing fourth in 1969, third in 1970, and second in 1971. After placing fourth in the 1972 Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo, she joined the Ice Capades and was a principal skater through 1975.
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Following Holmes’ last tour, she joined the skating cast of the “Donny & Marie” TV series for three seasons. Holmes also skated in various independent ice shows, commercials, and movies. Holmes won the U.S. Novice and Junior Ladies titles under the tutelage of PSA Hall of Fame coach Nancy Rush. Later, she trained with World and U.S. Hall of Fame coach Carlo Fassi.
Kimmie Meissner
Inducted 2020
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World champion Kimmie Meissner was a teen on a mission. She is the 2006 World champion, the 2007 Four Continents champion, and 2007 U.S. champion. She was the youngest American athlete to compete at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, where she finished sixth. On the heels of those Games, the 16-year-old won her World title with personal bests in all three scoring segments. In recognition, the U.S. Olympic Committee named her its Female Athlete of the Month (March 2006).
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In 2005, Meissner became the first U.S. woman since 1992 to land a triple Axel, a feat that wouldn't be repeated by an American in competition until 2017. Meissner qualified for the 2005 World Championships but was age-ineligible, so instead attended the event in Moscow as a guest reporter for ESPN.
Meissner, the 2006 SKATING Magazine Readers’ Choice Award winner, is from Bel Air, Maryland, and trained at Ice World in Abingdon, Maryland.
Tiffany Chin
Elected 2022
Tiffany Chin was a true trailblazer in the sport, becoming the first person of color to win a U.S. Championships title.
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Chin burst on the senior scene at a young age to become an Olympian (1984), two-time World bronze medalist (1985, ’86) and U.S. champion (1985).
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Chin was only 15 when she was named to her first of three World Teams. At age 16, she won the short program and free skate segments at the 1984 U.S. Championships, but her performance in the now-defunct figures cost her the title. Still, the silver medal earned Chin a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in Sarajevo, where she finished fourth.
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At the 1985 U.S. Championships, Chin won all three segments to defeat Debi Thomas and Caryn Kadavy for the gold medal. She was invited to represent the U.S. in Moscow at the 1986 Goodwill Games, joining such stars as Thomas and Brian Boitano, among others, for two exhibitions with Russian skaters.
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Chin — who was coached by Janet Champion, Frank Carroll, John Nicks, and Don Laws — famously battled growth-related injuries and was forced to take time off the ice. After the 1987 U.S. Championships, Chin turned professional at age 19, skating for Ice Capades, Holiday on Ice, and Gershwin on Ice tour. She also competed in the 1987 World Professional Figure Skating Championships, finishing fourth.
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Chin, who grew up in San Diego, is a three-time Olympic coach with skater Kailani Craine of Australia.
Albertina Noyes
Inducted 2025
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A two-time Olympian, five-time U.S. World Team member, and a North American and U.S. Championships medalist, Tina Noyes was an integral part of U.S. Figure Skating’s rebuilding project after the entire 1961 U.S. World Team perished in a plane crash in Berg-Kampenhout, Belgium.
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Noyes skated at a time of high pressure, training alongside Peggy Fleming and Christine Haigler at the Colorado Springs Broadmoor World Arena. The three were just 14 years old when they were named to the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team that competed in Innsbruck. They finished sixth (Fleming), seventh (Haigler), and eighth (Noyes) but showed signs of what would come. Fleming famously won the 1968 Olympic gold medal in Grenoble, France, while Noyes placed fourth. Noyes finished second to Fleming at four U.S. Championships.
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Noyes, a graduate of Boston College, skated professionally with the Ice Capades through the early 1970s.
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For the past 40 years, Noyes has coached figure skaters, synchronized skaters, and hockey players at the Hayden Recreational Centre in Lexington, Massachusetts. She is the author of I Can Teach you to Figure Skate and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians History 1945–1995.
PAIRS
Karol Kennedy &
Peter Kennedy
Elected 1991
Karol and Peter Kennedy were five-time Pair Champions of the United States from 1948 to 1952 and four-time World silver medalists (1947, 1949, 1951, 1952), as well as Olympic silver medalists (1952).
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In 1950, the Kennedys became the first Americans to become Pair Champions of the World. It would not be until 1979 that another U.S. pair would take the title: Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner.
Tai Babilonia &
Randy Gardner
Elected 1991
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Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner were the first National Junior Pair Champions in 1973 and then U.S. Champions for five years from 1976 to 1980. They won two World bronze medals in 1977 and 1978. Then in 1979, they became only the second American team to ever win the World Pair Championships.
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Figure skating events of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games were held in Lake Placid’s new four-rink complex. The United States team was the strongest ever entered. Its members held two of the 1979 World titles, Ladies and Pairs. There was an excellent chance to win gold medals in these events. Eagerly awaited was the Paris confrontation between the Americans and the Russians. While warming up Randy Gardner fell several times. Skating fourth they took to the ice only to leave two minutes later. Randy had suffered a groin injury two weeks before and had re-injured it during practice two days before the competition. The long-awaited confrontation would not happen. Rodnina and Zaitsev (USSR) easily won.
Nancy Ludington & Ron Ludington
Elected 1993
Nancy and Ron Ludington were the 1956 U.S. Junior Pair Champions. In 1957, at their first national senior competition, they won the Pair title. This would be the first of four consecutive championships (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960).
In their first Worlds in 1957, they placed fourth; the following year, they were fifth. Then, in 1959, they captured the bronze medal at Worlds. The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were held in the United States at Squaw Valley. The Ludingtons, in a close decision over the Jelineks (Canada), took the bronze medal. At the following World Championship, Nancy and Ron closed their career with a sixth-place finish.
JoJo Starbuck & Kenneth Shelley
Elected 1994
JoJo Starbuck and Kenneth Shelley were the 1967 National Junior Pair Champions. They captured the first of three National Senior Pair Championships in 1970 and successfully defended their title for the next two years, 1971 and 1972. They became World bronze medalists in 1971 and 1972.
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At the 1972 National Championships, Ken Shelley became only the third man to hold two national titles at once when he became Men's National Champion. Eugene Turner had previously done so in 1941 and Nathaniel Niles in 1918 and 1925.
Cynthia Kauffman & Ronald Kauffman
Elected 1995
Cynthia and Ronald Kauffman, a brother-sister pair team, revolutionized figure skating with their innovative and creative style. Retiring from competition in 1969, they left a legacy of groundbreaking techniques and moves. The Kauffman’s were the first pair team to introduce several now common elements into their routines, including the one-arm overhead lift, the split twist, the throw axel, and their signature satellite spin.
Their competitive career was marked by significant achievements. After winning the 1963 U.S. National Junior Pair Championship, they went on to capture four consecutive U.S. Senior Pair Championship titles from 1966 to 1969.
Their success extended to the North American and world stage as well. In 1967 and 1969 they won the North American Championship and in a stunning upset at the 1966 World Championships, the Kauffmans earned the bronze medal. They successfully defended their bronze medal at the World Championships for the following two years, cementing their place in skating history.
Caitlin and Peter Carruthers
Elected 1999
Caitlin and Peter Carruthers
United States
Elected 1999
Caitlin and Peter Carruthers were four-time National Senior Pair Champions from 1981 to 1984. In 1982, they captured the World bronze medal.
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In 1984, the Carruthers captured the silver medal at the Olympics, the first medal in pairs since 1960, 24 years earlier. Interestingly, the Carruthers’ coach, Ron Ludington, with his partner Nancy, had received the Olympic bronze medal in 1960.
Jill Watson &
Peter Oppegard
Elected 2004
Watson and Oppegard won three national titles, a world bronze medal, an Olympic bronze medal, and various other medals. During Watson and Oppegard's free skate at the 1988 Olympics, a photographer dropped his camera bag onto the ice and an usher walked onto the ice to pick it up while the pair performed an overhead lift on the other side of the rink.​
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Jenni Meno &
Todd Sand
Elected 2010
Meno and Sand began a skating partnership after the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships that united them not only as a pairs team but also as husband and wife, in 1995. It took only two years for this pair to become U.S. champions, in 1994, a title they held consecutively through 1996. They competed in six World Championships, winning bronze medals in 1995-96 and a silver medal in 1998. Meno and Sand began skating at ages 8 and 10 respectively, and were members of three Olympic teams in 1992 (with different partners), 1994, and 1998. The husband-and-wife duo currently coach singles and pairs skaters at the national and international level in Aliso Viejo, California. They have two sons, Jack and Matthew.
Kyoko Ina &
John Zimmerman
Elected 2018
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Using a staggering one-foot height difference to their advantage, Kyoko Ina (5-foot-0) and John Zimmerman (6-foot-0) brought daring lifts and explosive throw elements to American pairs skating. After successful careers with other partners, Ina and Zimmerman teamed up in the 1998-99 season to immediate success, qualifying for the Grand Prix Final after only a few months as a team, and earning silver in their U.S. Championships debut in 1999.
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From 2000 to 2002, Ina and Zimmerman won three back-to-back U.S. titles. They went on to win bronze at the 2002 World Championships and placed fifth at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. At the time of their induction in 2018, an American pairs team had not won as many consecutive U.S. titles, earned a World medal, or placed as high on the Olympic stage since.
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Ina is a three-time Olympian, representing Team USA at the 1994 and 1998 Games with partner Jason Dungjen.
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After the 2002 Olympic Games, Ina and Zimmerman turned professional and toured with Stars on Ice. While Ina left the tour in 2009, Zimmerman toured for a year as a solo skater, and the duo reunited for one final tour as a team in 2011.
Vivian Joseph and Ronald Joseph
Inducted 2024
Known for their fast and athletic skating, Vivian and Ronald Joseph advanced quickly through the elite and international ranks as a young competitive team. Vivian was 12 and Ronald was 16 when they won their first medal (silver) as juniors at the 1960 U.S. Championships. They developed quickly and went on to compete in the Olympic Winter Games and three World Championships, earning the 1965 World silver medal. In 1965, they became the first U.S. pairs team in 14 years to win the North American Championships, besting their 1963 bronze medal. The Josephs are four-time U.S. medalists, earning the title at the 1965 U.S. Championships.
The Josephs unknowingly became entangled in an Olympic medal controversy. In 1964, the Josephs placed fourth at the Innsbruck Games but were elevated to the bronze medal in 1966 after the West German team of Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler was disqualified for signing a professional contract prior to the Games. Two decades later, in 1987, the International Olympic Committee deemed the West Germans “rehabilitated” and reinstated them as silver medalists but did not communicate the decision outside of Europe. Confusion over the 1964 Olympic results lasted until 2014, when the IOC officially declared the results as follows: Gold — Ludmila Belousova/Oleg Protopopov (Soviet Union); Silver — Kilius/Bäumler (West Germany) and Debbi Wilkes/Guy Revell (Canada); Bronze — Joseph/Joseph (USA).
After learning the IOC corrected the 1964 result, the Josephs’ first thoughts were with their coach, Peter Dunfield, who died months before the announcement. Dunfield spent decades trying to rectify the medals results.
DANCE
Lois Waring &
Michael McGean
Elected 1991
Lois Waring and Michael McGean were twice the Dance Champions of the United States in 1950 and 1952.
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In 1950, they were selected to go to the first International Competition in Dance. They won the competition relatively easily over Sybil Cooke and Robert Hudson of Great Britain. This win, however, was not a World Championship, as Dance would not be included at Worlds until 1952. The following year they defended their title, but placed only third.
Judy Schwomeyer & James Sladky
Elected 1991
Judy Schwomeyer and James Sladky won five United States Dance Championships (1968-1972). They represented the United States in six World Championships, winning the silver medal in 1970 and three bronze medals (1969, 1971, 1972).
The Sladkys, along with coach Ron Ludington, were also the originators of the Yankee Polka in 1969. They are the only Americans to design an international compulsory dance.
Colleen O’Connor & Jim Millns
Elected 1993
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Colleen O’Connor and Jim Millns were three-time National Dance Champions from 1974 to 1976. They became the World silver medalists in 1975.
In the 1976 Olympic Winter Games, ice dancing was competed for the first time. Dance had been a World competition since 1952, 24 years earlier. Colleen O’Connor and Jim Millns have not only the distinction of being the first Olympic competitors in Dance, but with their win of the bronze medal, they remain the only U.S. couple to ever win an Olympic medal in Dance.
Maribel Vinson Owen & George E. B. Hill
Elected 1994
Maribel Vinson Owen partnered with George Hill in 1929 after Maribel's former partner Thornton Coolidge retired. In 1930, 1931, and 1932, they were second in national Pairs. They did not compete at either the 1932 Olympics or Worlds due to Hill's college commitments.
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Then, in 1933, they won the first of four U.S. Pair titles (1933, 1935, 1936, 1937). Maribel had gone abroad to train in 1934, leaving Hill behind. Therefore, they put a temporary hold on competition together. Upon Maribel's return in 1935, they regained their national title. They were on the U.S. Olympic and World Team in 1936, placing fifth at both.
Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert
Elected 1996
Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert are five-time U.S. Dance Champions from 1981 to 1985. They were U.S. World Team members for six years and won three consecutive bronze medals at the World Championships 1983-1985. Their medal in 1983 was the first in Dance for the United States since 1976.
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Blumberg and Seibert also placed fourth at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. Torvill and Dean were the gold medalists with the Soviets taking the other two medals.
Andree Anderson & Donald Jacoby
Elected 1997
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Andree Anderson and Donald Jacoby were U.S. National Dance Champions in 1958 and 1959. As World Team members during those same years, they earned a bronze medal at Worlds in 1958 and a silver medal in 1959. Their silver medal represents the highest U.S. placement in dance since that discipline was introduced at Worlds in 1952. It would be seven years before another U.S. dance couple would place that well. They also won the U.S. Dance silver medal in 1957.
Elizabeth Punsalan & Jerod Swallow
Elected 2002
Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow are one of only three dance teams that have won five U.S. Championships (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 1998). They represented the U.S. at the 1994 and 1998 Olympic Winter Games and competed in five World Championships before turning professional. The two were married in 1993.
Marjorie Parker Smith & Joseph Savage Elected 2009
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Marjorie Parker Smith, a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., and former ice dancing partner and attorney Joseph Savage, were inducted posthumously in January 2009. Parker Smith passed away only days before the induction at the age of 92. This pair won the first “official” U.S. ice dancing championships, representing the Skating Club of New York in 1936, and followed with a silver medal in 1937.
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Like many skaters at the time, Parker Smith and Savage competed in multiple skating disciplines. Parker Smith won a pairs bronze medal at the 1936 U.S. Championships with Howard Meredith and a gold medal at the fours competition in 1939, skating with George Boltres, along with Nettie Prantell and Joseph Savage. Savage won three additional silver medals with different partners between 1934 and 1939 in ice dancing at the U.S. Championships and fours competition. He also competed at the 1930 World Championships in pairs and the 1932 Olympic Winter Games with different partners.
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Parker Smith was asked by Roy Shipstad to join the “Ice Follies,” which emerged after her amateur career, but she chose instead to attend college. She was the lady skater in the 1980s movie Splash. When she could no longer skate, Parker Smith broke the world indoor track and field record for the 600-yard dash (1984) and the 300-yard dash (1985) in the 70-74 age bracket.
Savage was a featured skater of the Silver Skates Carnival in Madison Square Garden, N.Y., and was also an accomplished roller skater. He was the former director of the Skating Club of New York, a world figure judge, and a U.S. gold ice dancing judge. He was past president of the Amateur Skating Union of the United States and held many administrative and chair positions at U.S. Figure Skating, including president from 1937-1940.
Tanith Belbin &
Benjamin Agosto
Inducted 2016
In a discipline previously dominated by Soviet/Russian teams, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto broke through ice dance’s political framework to usher in a new era of American success.
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They are the 2006 Olympic silver medalists, four-time World medalists, three-time Grand Prix Final medalists and five-time U.S. champions. Belbin and Agosto earned three Four Continents titles, medaling in all six of those contests.
At the 2005 World Championships — in Moscow, no less — Belbin and Agosto earned the silver medal to become the first American ice dance team to stand on a world podium since 1985. In the decade following those championships, 10 American teams would earn World medals, helping break the Soviet/Russian stronghold in the sport.
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But the 2006 Olympic Winter Games presented an entirely new challenge. Although Belbin had lived and trained in Michigan since 1998, she did not hold American citizenship. Born in Kingston, Ontario, she needed to become a citizen in order to represent the United States with Agosto at the Torino Games. Just days before the U.S. Olympic Team was to be named, President George W. Bush on Dec. 31, 2005, signed an order to make Belbin a naturalized citizen.
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Belbin and Agosto did not waste the opportunity. They earned their first U.S. Olympic Team berth by winning their third of what would become five consecutive U.S. titles. But going into Torino, Italy, Olympic history would not be on their side, as no American ice dance team had ever stood on the podium since the discipline’s Olympic debut in 1976. Soviet/Russian teams had dominated the Olympic ice, earning 15 of 24 Olympic medals.
Behind energetic and emotive programs, the charismatic Belbin and Agosto achieved the unthinkable and became the first U.S. ice dance team to earn an Olympic silver medal. Their historic achievements opened the doors to true competitive parity in the tightly judged discipline.
After finishing fourth at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Belbin and Agosto stepped away from the competitive ice to give way to the next era of American ice dancers, including training mates Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who would go on to become the 2014 Olympic champions.
Belbin and Agosto were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on Jan. 22, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota. They were presented by White, who married Belbin in April 2015.
Carol Fox &
Richard Dalley
Elected in 2019
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Olympians Carol Fox and Richard Dalley earned medals in nine of their 10 U.S. Championships. The five-time U.S. World Team members also earned medals in all but one of their international and professional events. During the 1979-80 season, due to Dalley’s leg injury, the team placed a disappointing third at the 1980 U.S. Championships, which kept them off the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. Fox and Dalley committed to another Olympic quad and were ages 26 and 27, respectively, when they competed in the 1984 Olympic Winter Games, finishing fifth. Many consider this time as a renaissance era of ice dance, led by the British team of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
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Before figure skating, Fox and Dalley were competitive roller skaters, transitioning to figure skating in their mid-teens. Fox and Dalley were coached by Sandy Hess and later Ron Ludington. After the Olympics, they turned to professional skating as featured performers of the Ice Capades from 1984-89. Dalley served as a U.S. Olympic Committee AAC representative and was a USOC Ethics Committee Member. He served U.S. Figure Skating on the Executive Committee, was the first paid director of a U.S. Figure Skating Championship (1994 Detroit), chair of the AAC and the nominating committee, and organized the first candidates’ forum. Dalley was a 2010 Olympic Team Leader and has been an ISU judge and national tech specialist. Fox continues to teach at the Denver Figure Skating Club.
Meryl Davis &
Charlie White
Inducted 2020
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Olympic ice dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White rewrote the record books.
They are the first American ice dance team to capture Olympic gold (2014) and the first to become World champions (2011, 2013). They are the only ice dance team in the world to win five consecutive Grand Prix Finals (2009-13) and their six consecutive U.S. titles (2009-14) set a record.
Davis and White were undefeated in their final two seasons, winning all 12 events. At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Davis and White (team captain) elected to skate both segments in the inaugural team event, posting record scores in the short dance and free dance to lift Team USA to a bronze medal. In the ice dance event, they set Olympic records for the short dance, free dance, and total score.
Coached by Marina Zoueva, the three-time Olympic medalists (2010 silver) won a total of 30 senior gold medals in eight seasons. In 2006, they became the first ice dance team to earn Level 4s on all of their elements (NHK Trophy).
Davis and White, who earned two (2011, '13) SKATING Readers' Choice Awards for Skaters of the Year, started skating together when White was 8 and Davis was 9 in metro Detroit. The Michigan natives are the longest-tenured team, competing together their entire 17-year career.
Davis is from West Bloomfield and White is from Bloomfield Hills.
MAIA & ALEX SHIBUTANI
Elected 2023
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The Shibutani siblings have left an indelible mark on the sport of figure skating as competitors and trailblazers.
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“Maia and Alex have been exemplary athletes,” Dalley said. “In addition to their many medals – including two Olympic bronze medals -- they have earned numerous honors and awards of off-ice distinction which include being named Sports Envoys with the U.S. Department of State, focusing on respect for diversity and the Olympic ideals.”
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The two-time Olympians and three-time World medalists (2011 bronze, 2016 silver and 2017 bronze) set a level of excellence throughout their entire 14-season career, earning medals at each of their 14 U.S. Championships at every level in which they competed. The Shibutanis won eight U.S. senior medals and are two-time U.S. senior champions (2016-17).
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At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, the Shibutanis earned two bronze medals, first as Team USA’s sole ice dance entry in the team event and then in the individual event. The medals are historic in that the Shibutanis are the first athletes of Asian descent and only non-white team to earn an Olympic ice dance medal.
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From their early beginnings, the sister-and-brother team had their eyes set on greatness. In their first U.S. Championships appearance in 2005, the young team earned the silver medal at the juvenile level and stood on the podium at every U.S. Championships for the next 13 years.
In their first senior season (2010), they became the first rookie ice dance team to medal at both of their Grand Prix events. At the 2011 World Championships, Maia (then 16) and Alex (then 19) became the first U.S. ice dancers to medal in their World debut and the second-youngest team to medal at the World Championships. At the 2011 Four Continents Championship, they became the first ice dancers of Asian descent to medal (silver) at a major ISU Championship event.
In total, the Shibutanis earned 15 medals in the ISU Grand Prix Series working with coach Marina Zoueva and others throughout their career.
Off the ice, the siblings are involved in charity work and have been prominent faces in addressing hate crimes against Asians and Pacific Islanders. They have received the 2020 Asia Society Game Changer Award, been honored on the Gold House A100 List and were the 2022 Parade Marshals of the Nisei Week Grand Parade in Los Angeles.
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In 2016, the Shibutanis were named Sports Envoys with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and led outreach activities in South Korea (2017), Japan (2018, ’19) and Singapore (2018). The Shibutanis continue to actively support many organizations, including Right To Play, charity: water, When We all Vote, Figure Skating in Harlem, the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation and Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation, among others.
Mens
Sherwin Badger* | Class of 1976
Irwin Brokow* | Class of 1976
Jackson Haines* | Class of 1976
David Jenkins | Class of 1976
Hays Jenkins | Class of 1976
Nathaniel W Niles* | Class of 1978
Harold Hartshorne* | Class of 1981
Eugene Turner* | Class of 1983
Scott Hamilton | Class of 1990
James Grogan* | Class of 1991
Charles Tickner | Class of 1991
Ronnie Robertson* | Class of 1993
Tim Wood | Class of 1993
Roger Turner* | Class of 1994
Robin Lee* | Class of 1995
Brian Boitano | Class of 1996
John Misha Petkevich | Class of 1999
Scott Ethan Allen | Class of 2000
Arthur Vaughn* | Class of 2001
Gary Visconti | Class of 2001
Paul Wylie | Class of 2007
Todd Eldredge | Class of 2008
Rudy Galindo | Class of 2013
Terry Kubika | Class of 2014
David Santee | Class of 2015
Evan Lysacek | Class of 2016
Michael Weiss | Class of 2018
Timothy Goebel | Class of 2019
Johnny Weir | Class of 2021​​
Women
Tenley Albright | Class of 1976
Theresa Weld Blanchard* | Class of 1976
Peggy Fleming | Class of 1976
Carol Heiss | Class of 1976
Maribel V Owen* | Class of 1976
Beatrix Loughran* | Class of 1977
Dorothy Hamill | Class of 1991
Yvonne Tutt* | Class of 1991
Janet Lynn | Class of 1994
Joan Tozzer Cave* | Class of 1997
Barbara Roles | Class of 1997
Kristi Yamaguchi | Class of 1998
Gretchen Merrill* | Class of 2000
Debbie Thomas | Class of 2000
Rosalynn Sumners | Class of 2001
Jill Trenary | Class of 2002
Elaine Zayak | Class of 2003
Nancy Kerrigan | Class of 2004
Catherine Machado* | Class of 2005
Tara Lipinski | Class of 2006
Janet Gerhauser Carpenter | Class of 2007
Sonya Klopfer Dunfield* | Class of 2008
Sarah Hughes | Class of 2010
Michelle Kwan | Class of 2012
Sasha Cohen | Class of 2016
Julie Lynn Holmes | Class of 2019
Kimmie Meissner | Class of 2020
Tiffany Chin | Class of 2022
Albtina (Tina) Noyes | Class of 2025​
Pairs
Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner | Class of 1991
Karol Kennedy & Peter Kennedy | Class of 1991
Nancy Rouillard Ludington & Ronald Ludington | Class of 1993
JoJo Starbuck & Kenneth Shelley | Class of 1994
Cynthia Kauffman & Ronald Kauffman | Class of 1995
Maribel V Owen & George Hill | Class of 1994
Caitlin (Kitty) Carruthers & Peter Carruthers | Class of 1999
Jill Watson & Peter Oppegard | Class of 2004
Jeni Meno & Todd Sand | Class of 2010
Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman | Class of 2018
Vivian Joseph & Ronald Joseph | Class of 2024​​​​​
Dance
Lois Waring & Michael McGrean | Class of 1991
Judy Schwomeyer & Jim Sladky | Class of 1991
Colleen O'Connor & Jim Millins | Class of 1993
Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert | Class of 1996
Andree Anderson & Donald Jacoby | Class of 1997
Elizabeth Punsalan & Jerrod Swallow | Class of 2002
Marjorie Parker Smith & Joseph Savage | Class of 2009
Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto | Class of 2016
Carol Fox & Richard Dalley | Class of 2019
Meryl Davis & Charlie White | Class of 2020
Mia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani | Class of 2023