Dick Button, the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history and one of the sport’s most pivotal figures, died on Thursday. He was 95.
The tragic news was confirmed by his his son, Edward. He did not provide a cause of death.
Button won two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, His death comes on a dark day for the sport.
Earlier on Thursday, it emerged that 14 members of the skating community were killed in the tragic Washington DC plane crash, when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River.
As an entrepreneur and broadcaster, Button helped transform a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics.
‘Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport,’ Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton said. There wasn’t a skater after Dick who wasn’t helped by him in some way.’
Button´s impact began after World War II. He was the first U.S. men´s champion – and his country´s youngest at age 16 – when that competition returned in 1946.
Two years later, he took the title at the St. Moritz Olympics, competing outdoors. He performed the first double axel in any competition and became the first American to win the men´s event.
‘By the way, that jump had a cheat on it,’ Button told the U.S. Olympic Committee website. ‘But listen, I did it and that was what counted.’
