48-412: Richard Totten Button (born July 18, 1929) is an American former figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive World champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-European man to have become European champion . Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as
96-511: A special figure ". By the mid-1920s, the Axel was the only jump that was not being doubled. During the early 1900s, Professional German skater Charlotte Oelschlägel was the first woman to include an Axel in her programs; Hines reported that she would terminate the Axel with her "famous fade-away ending", the Charlotte spiral , a move she invented. In the early 1920s, Sonja Henie from Norway
144-418: A 29.6 point lead following the figures portion of the competition, having won four of the five figures. Button had been attempting the double Axel jump in practice but had never landed it. In practice on the day before the free skating event, Button landed one in practice for the first time. He decided to put it into his free skating for the next day. Button landed it in competition, becoming the first skater in
192-701: A 2A-2A sequence. For the 1952 Winter Olympics , Button and Lussi began working on a triple jump. They settled on training the triple loop. Button landed it for the first time in practice in December 1951 at the Skating Club of Boston, and for the first time in exhibition in Vienna following the European Championships. At the 1952 Winter Olympics , Button had the lead after figures, with nine first places, over Helmut Seibt . Button's point total
240-436: A common technical element in the men's singles discipline, while it is still rare among female single skaters. As of 2024, twenty women have successfully completed the triple Axel in competition. The quadruple Axel was successfully executed in competition for the first time in 2022, but has not yet been landed by a female skater. Compared with other basic figure skating jumps, the Axel requires an extra half revolution, which makes
288-510: A short career performing in ice shows . He signed on to skate with the Ice Capades during his law school vacations. He toured with Holiday on Ice . He co-produced "Dick Button's Ice-Travaganza" for the 1964 New York World's Fair , starring 1963 World Champion Donald McPherson , but the ice show lost money and closed after a few months. As founder of Candid Productions , he created a variety of made-for-television sports events, including
336-446: A skater in which Button has had the greatest influence on the sport. As Hines states, "Perhaps no name is better known in figure skating, a result of his visibility for more than 40 years as a commentator. ...Through that forum, he had the opportunity to champion the sport more than any other person". Hines also says that his commentating career gave him a 40-year long historical perspective. Button provided commentary for CBS's broadcast of
384-441: A step forward onto the forward outside takeoff edge. The skater must also approach the jump typically from the left forward outside edge of the skate, enabling them to step forward. They then kick through with their free leg, helping them to jump into the air. The skater must land on the right back outside edge of the skate and the change in foot required to complete the Axel means that their centre of gravity must be transferred from
432-569: A triple Axel "more a quadruple jump than a triple", according to figure skating expert Hannah Robbins. The Axel jump, also called the Axel Paulsen jump for its creator the Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen , is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating . According to figure skating historian James Hines, the Axel is "figure skating's most difficult jump". It is the only basic jump in competition that takes off forward, which makes it
480-512: Is an edge jump performed in figure skating . It is the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a forward take-off, which makes it the easiest to identify. A double or triple Axel is required in both the short program and the free skating segment for junior and senior single skaters in all events sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The triple Axel has become
528-515: Is determined by the number of revolutions completed during the jump. The base value of a single Axel is 1.10, a double Axel 3.30, a triple Axel 8.00, a quadruple Axel 12.50 and a quintuple Axel is 14. Paulson was the first skater to accomplish an Axel, at the first international figure skating competition, which was held in Vienna in 1882, while wearing speed skates. Hines, who called Paulsen "progressive" for inventing it, stated that he did it "as
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#1732782745099576-418: Is the oldest but most difficult figure skating jump. A "lead-up" to the Axel is the waltz jump, a half-revolution jump and the first jump that skaters learn. The Axel has three phases: the entrance phase (which ends with the takeoff), the flight phase, when the skater rotates into the air, and the landing phase, which begins when the skater's blade hits the ice and ends when they are "safely skating backwards on
624-521: The World Professional Figure Skating Championships , Challenge of Champions , Dorothy Hamill specials for HBO. As an actor, Button performed in such films as The Young Doctors and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan starring Tony Curtis . He appeared in television roles, including Hans Brinker and Mr. Broadway . Figure skating historian James R. Hines said that it was in roles other than as
672-463: The 1952 World Figure Skating Championships and U.S. Championships. Button decided to enter Harvard Law School in the fall of 1952. Because of the time commitments, Button retired from amateur skating that year to focus on law school. He completed a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1956 and was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C. Following his retirement from competition, Button had
720-556: The 1960 Winter Olympics , launching a decades-long career in television broadcast journalism. He did commentary for CBS's broadcast of the 1961 United States Figure Skating Championships . Beginning in 1962, he worked as a figure skating analyst for ABC Sports , which had acquired the rights to the United States Figure Skating Championships as well as the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships . During ABC's coverage of figure skating events in
768-484: The 1972 Olympics and World Championships . Acknowledging that Gerschwiler had a better understanding of outdoor ice, Button decided to spend some time training outdoors on the Lake Placid club tennis courts. Button faced Gerschwiler again at the 1948 European Championships . Button led after figures in points, having 749 points to Gerschwiler's 747.8, but Gerschwiler led in placings, with 14 to Button's 15. During
816-516: The 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo , Canadian skater Brian Orser became the first skater to complete a triple Axel at the Olympics. According to The New York Times , throughout the years, the triple Axel "has become more common for male skaters" to perform. The first female skater to successfully execute a triple Axel in competition was Japanese skater Midori Ito , at a regional competition in
864-611: The 2006 Skate America , the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships , and the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships . In late 2010, he was lead judge on Skating with the Stars , produced by BBC Worldwide, producers of Dancing with the Stars . In 2009, Button served as a judge on the CBC's Battle of the Blades reality show. He again appeared on NBC to do commentary for 2010 Games . Button's television skating debut came on We
912-457: The 2006 U.S. National Championships . They were also the first couple to perform a throw triple Axel at the Olympics and international competition, in 2006 . In 2022, American skater Ilia Malinin was the first skater to successfully complete a quadruple Axel in competition at the CS U.S. Classic . The Axel is an edge jump, which means that the skater must spring into the air from bent knees. It
960-413: The 2018 team event ; Russian skater Kamila Valieva in her short program at the 2022 team event ; and Japanese skater Wakaba Higuchi in both programs of the 2022 women's individual event . As of October 2020, twelve women have successfully completed the triple Axel in international competition. The first throw triple Axel was performed by American pair skaters Rena Inoue and John Baldwin , at
1008-596: The Aichi Prefecture of Japan in 1988. She was also the first woman to land it at an international competition, at the 1988 NHK Trophy , as well as the first woman to land it at the Olympics, in 1992 . Since Ito, multiple other women have landed the jump in competition. However, only five have completed the triple Axel in an Olympic program: Ito during her free skate in 1992; Japanese skater Mao Asada in both programs in 2010 as well as her free skate in 2014 ; American skater Mirai Nagasu in her free skate in
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#17327827450991056-528: The Skating Club of Boston , Button applied to, and was accepted at, Harvard College . Button was a full-time student at Harvard while skating competitively and graduated in 1952 and was a member of The Delphic Club , one of the University's select " Final Clubs ". He went on to win every international competition he entered for the next four years. As reigning and defending champion, as well as being
1104-582: The 1943 Eastern States Novice Championship, Button finished second to Jean-Pierre Brunet . In 1944, he won the Eastern States junior title which earned him the opportunity to compete at the National Novice Championships. He won the event. In 1945, his third year of serious skating, he won the Eastern States senior title and the national junior title. He was also skating pairs , and competed with Barbara Jones in junior pairs at
1152-506: The 1946 Eastern States Championships. They performed Button's singles program side-by-side with minor modifications and won. This competition, where Button also competed as a single skater, led into the 1946 U.S. Championships . At age 16, Button won the 1946 U.S. Championships by a unanimous vote. According to Button, this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior, and senior titles in three consecutive years. Button went on to win six more national championships (1947-1951), tying
1200-713: The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Button became the sport's best-known analyst, well known for his frank and often caustic appraisal of skaters' performances. He won an Emmy Award in 1981 for Outstanding Sports Personality – Analyst. Although other U.S. television networks aired the Winter Olympics from the 1990s onward, Button still appeared on ABC's broadcasts of the U.S. and World Figure Skating Championships until ABC removed them from its broadcast schedule in 2008. According to writer and figure skating historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, Button "in effect educated [an] entire generation in how to watch skating", viewers who had never viewed
1248-726: The Olympic Games and on various figure-skating television shows. [REDACTED] Media related to Dick Button at Wikimedia Commons Figure skater Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 225289203 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:32:25 GMT Axel jump The Axel jump or Axel Paulsen jump , named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen ,
1296-650: The People on April 11, 1952, when he skated on the rink at Rockefeller Center. He was a guest on the TV show I've Got A Secret as one of five former Olympic champions which aired October 13, 1954. In 1975, Button married figure skating coach Slavka Kohout ; the couple later divorced. Button lives in North Salem, New York as of 2013. He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976,
1344-461: The double Axel consists of two-and-half revolutions, and the triple Axel consists of three-and-a-half revolutions. Sports reporter Nora Princiotti states, about the triple Axel, "It takes incredible strength and body control for a skater to get enough height and to get into the jump fast enough to complete all the rotations before landing with a strong enough base to absorb the force generated". According to American skater Mirai Nagasu , "falling on
1392-405: The easiest jump to identify. Skaters commonly perform a double or triple Axel, followed by a jump of lower difficulty in combination. A double or triple Axel is required in the short program and an Axel is required in the free program for junior and senior single skaters in all ISU competitions. The Axel jump is the most studied jump in figure skating. In competition, the base value of an Axel
1440-456: The first skater to perform a double Axel and a flying camel, Button was under pressure to perform a new jump or spin every season. In 1949, he performed a 2Lo-2Lo combination. He was the winner of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top U.S. amateur athlete of 1949, becoming the first figure skater to win the award. In 1950, he performed the 2Lo-2Lo-2Lo. In 1951, he performed a 2A-2Lo combination and
1488-427: The first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin , which was originally known as the "Button camel". He "brought increased athleticism" to figure skating in the years following World War II . According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Button represented the "American School" of figure skating, which was a more athletic style than skaters from Europe. Button
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1536-408: The free skating, Button performed his Olympic program for the first time. He won, with 11 placings to Gerschwiler's 18. Following this year, when North Americans took home the men's and ladies' titles, non-Europeans were no longer allowed to enter into the European Championships. Button is the only American to have won the European Championships. At the 1948 Winter Olympics , Button led Gerschwiler by
1584-410: The full outside edge with one leg behind in the air". According to researcher Anna Mazurkiewicz and her colleagues, the most important parts of the entrance phase is the transition phase (also called the pre-takeoff phase) and the takeoff itself. The jump has a forward takeoff, approached with a series of backward crossovers in either the opposite or the same direction to the jump's rotation, followed by
1632-421: The judges, three to Button's two. Button won the silver medal at his first World Championships. It was the last time he placed lower than first in competition. At the competition, Button was befriended by Ulrich Salchow . Salchow, who was disappointed when Button did not win, presented him with the first International Cup Salchow had won in 1901. Button later passed on this trophy to John Misha Petkevich following
1680-475: The key to executing a successful triple Axel is "achieving a high rotational velocity by generating angular momentum at take-off and minimising the moment of inertia about the spin axis". As of January 2023, four skaters have earned a perfect score for the triple Axel jump (since the introduction of the ISU Judging System in 2004): Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernández , Yan Han , and Shoma Uno . Hanyu
1728-658: The last time. Button won the event. At the time, the U.S. Championships were held after the World Championships, and Button finished his season by defending his national title. In February 1948, Button, his coach, and his mother were in Prague to perform an exhibition. They were stranded there after the Communist uprising and had to be extracted by the U.S. Army . In 1949, Button won the Sullivan Award as
1776-411: The left side to the right, while rotating in the air, to reach the correct position to land. They land with five to ten times the force of their body weight on successful quadruple Axels. As a result, the Axel has an extra half-rotation, which, as figure skating expert Hannah Robbins states, "makes a triple Axel more a quadruple jump than a triple": the single Axel consists of one-and-a-half revolutions,
1824-556: The outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He is one of only two male figure skaters to win this award. Evan Lysacek is the other. Button had intended to attend Yale University beginning in the fall of 1947, but deferred a year due to the Olympics. Although he had originally been assured that his skating would not be a problem as long as his grades were good, he was later informed that he could not continue competing if he wanted to attend Yale. On advice from people from
1872-566: The random nature of the attacks "... the police said there was no reason to believe the victims were homosexual." On December 31, 2000, Button was skating at a public rink in New York State when he fell, fracturing his skull and causing a serious brain injury. He recovered and became a national spokesman for the Brain Injury Association of America as well as continuing his Emmy Award–winning commentary on broadcasts of
1920-418: The record set by Roger Turner , who won seven U.S. Nationals between 1928 and 1934. This win earned Button a spot at the 1947 World Championships . At the 1947 World Championships, Button was second behind rival Hans Gerschwiler following the compulsory figures part of the competition, with 34.9 points separating them. He won the free skating portion, but Gerschwiler had the majority of first places from
1968-480: The same year it was founded. Button suffered a serious head injury on July 5, 1978, when he was one of several men assaulted in Central Park by a gang of youths armed with baseball bats. Three persons were subsequently convicted of assault for the attacks. News accounts and trial testimony indicated the assailants were intending to target gay people, but the victims were attacked at random, and that because of
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2016-483: The sport as live spectators before seeing it on television. During the 2006 Winter Olympics , Button appeared on loan from ABC to once again provide commentary on the Olympics. Also during the 2006 Winter Olympics , USA Network ran a show called Olympic Ice . A recurring segment, called "Push Dick's Button," invited viewers to send in questions which Button answered on the air. The segment proved very popular so ABC and ESPN put it into various broadcasts, most notably
2064-447: The technique then been known, he probably could have easily performed triple or even quadruple jumps". At the 1948 Winter Olympics , American Dick Button was the first skater to complete a double Axel in competition. American Carol Heiss was the first woman to perform a double Axel, in 1953. The first successful triple Axel in competition was performed by Canadian Vern Taylor at the 1978 World Championships . Six years later, at
2112-535: The triple Axel is really brutal". It has been shown that the more skilled skaters have greater takeoff velocities and jump lengths. When skaters perform double Axels, they exhibit greater rotations during the flight phase, take off in more closed positions, and attain greater rotational velocities than when performing single Axels. They also increase their turns not by increasing the time in the air, but by increasing their rotational velocity when performing single, double, and triple Axels. According to researcher D.L. King,
2160-480: The world to do so. Button received eight firsts and two seconds, for a total of 10 places. Gerschwiler had 23. That combined with the figures results gave Button the gold medal. He became, and remains, the youngest man to win the Olympic gold in figure skating. As of 2022, he remains the last living male winner of 1948 Winter Olympics. Button went on to win the 1948 World Championships , where he faced Gerschwiler for
2208-480: Was 1,000.2 to Seibt's 957.7. During his free skate program, Button successfully landed the triple loop, becoming the first person to complete a triple jump in competition He became the third male figure skater to win two Olympic gold medals after Gillis Grafström and Karl Schäfer . He was the last man to defend his Olympic title in figure skating until Yuzuru Hanyu won his second Olympic gold in 2018 . He repeated as Gold medalist, then went on to defend his titles at
2256-587: Was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey . He graduated in 1947 from the Englewood School for Boys (now Dwight-Englewood School ). He began skating at an early age but did not begin training seriously until the age of 12, after his father overheard him being told he would never be a good skater. The father sent Button to Lake Placid , New York to train with coach Gus Lussi , who coached him throughout his competitive career. In his first competition,
2304-411: Was the first female skater to perform an Axel in competition. It was also reported by Hines that in the 1930s, Austrian skater Felix Kaspar , who was known for his athleticism, performed Axels with a trajectory of four feet height and 20 feet distance from take-off to landing (1.20 m height and 6 m distance); Hines stated that "there is little doubt in the minds of those who saw him that had
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