Gillis Grafström

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Gillis Grafström
Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12803, Gilles Grafström.jpg
Gillis Grafström in 1931.
Personal information
Full name Gillis Emanuel Grafström
Country represented  Sweden
Born (1893-06-07)June 7, 1893
Stockholm
Died April 14, 1938(1938-04-14) (aged 44)
Potsdam, Germany
Olympic medal record
Men's Figure skating
Gold 1920 Antwerp singles
Gold 1924 Chamonix singles
Gold 1928 St. Moritz singles
Silver 1932 Lake Placid singles

Gillis Emanuel Grafström (June 7, 1893 – April 14, 1938) was a Swedish figure skater. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden.1 He won three successive Olympic gold medals in Men's Figure Skating (1920, 1924, 1928) as well as an Olympic silver medal in the same event in 1932, and three World Championships (1922, 1924, 1929). Together with Eddie Eagan he is the only athlete to have won a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, having the further distinction of being the only person to have won an individual gold medal in both the Summer (1920) and Winter Olympics (1924, 1928), although Eagan remains the only one to have managed the feat in different disciplines.

Contents

Biography

In 1914, Grafstrom competed at the last World Championships before the First World War.2 After the war, Grafström won the Olympic gold medal three successive times (1920, 1924, 1928 and 1929) and the silver medal at the 1932 Winter Olympics (behind Karl Schäfer).3 He remains the only male figure skater to have won three Olympic gold medals (Sonja Henie and Irina Rodnina are other three-time Olympic Champions), and with his silver medal in 1932, is the most successful figure skater in Olympic history. He competed in and won three World Championships in 1922, 1924, 1929, competing only intermittently between editions of Olympic Games.

At his first Olympics in Antwerp one of his skates broke and he had to go to town to buy a new pair. Unfortunately only curly-toed skates were available.4 Despite this, he was still able to win.

At his last Olympics in 1932 in Lake Placid, he collided with a photographer on the icecitation needed and still managed to place second.

Grafström was one of the best skaters ever in compulsory figures.5 He also invented the Grafström-pirouette (on the back outside edge of the blade) and the flying sit spin.citation needed He skated very elegantly and was famous for his interpretation of music.citation needed

From 1925 to his death he lived in Potsdam, Germany. He trained on the Bornstedter See (Bornstedt Lake) when it was frozen or in Berlin on the artificial ice rink at the Volkspark Friedrichshain.

Grafström studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin (Technische Hochschule Berlin) and worked later as an architect.

Grafström collected graphics, paintings and sculptures about skating. This collection was continued by his wife Cecilie Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1898–1995). Today this collection belongs to the World Figure Skating Museum in Colorado Springs in the United States.2 Grafström was also a writer and an etcher.4

Grafström died in 1938 in Potsdam, Germany at the age of 44 due to blood poisoning.citation needed

Today there is a street in Potsdam named after him. In 1976 he was admitted to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.6 Additionally, Grafström won the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1929 (Shared with Sven Utterström).

Results

Event 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932
Winter Olympics 1st 1st 1st 2nd
World Championships 7th 1st 1st 1st
Nordic Championships 1st
Swedish Championships 2nd 1st 1st 1st

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gillis Grafström Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Hines, James R. (2006). Figure skating: a history. University of Illinois Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-252-07286-4. OCLC 59149288. 
  3. ^ "Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Results" (PDF). International Skating Union. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
  4. ^ a b Smith, Beverley (1994). Figure skating: a celebration. McClelland & Stewart. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-7710-2819-9. OCLC 30974224. 
  5. ^ Künzle-Watson, Karin (1996). Ice Skating: Steps to Success. Steps to Success 1. Human Kinetics. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-87322-669-1. "To this day, there are two individuals considered the best at this art: Gillis Grafström of Sweden, who was the men's Olympic champion in 1920, 1923, and 1928, and Beatrix "Trixi" Schuba of Austria, who was the women's Olympic champion in 1972."  Unknown parameter |lastn= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Hall of Fame Members". World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gillis Grafström
Preceded by
Per-Erik Hedlund		 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal with Sven Utterström
1929		 Succeeded by
Johan Richthoff