Donald Jackson (figure skater)

Donald George Jackson, CM OOnt (born April 2, 1940) is a Canadian retired figure skater. He is the 1962 World Champion, four-time Canadian national champion, and 1960 Olympic bronze medallist. At the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, he landed the first triple Lutz jump in international competition and won the world title.[1][2]

Donald Jackson
CM OOnt
Full nameDonald George Jackson
Born (1940-04-02) April 2, 1940 (age 84)
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Figure skating career
Country Canada
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's Figure skating
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1960 Squaw ValleyMen's Singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1962 PragueMen's singles
Silver medal – second place1960 VancouverMen's singles
Silver medal – second place1959 Colorado SpringsMen's singles
North American Championships
Gold medal – first place1961 PhiladelphiaMen's singles
Gold medal – first place1959 TorontoMen's singles
Olympic medal record
Men's figure skating
Representing  Canada
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Squaw Valley Singles

Biography

Jackson was coached by Pierre Brunet in New York City, where he lived with the family of 1960 Olympic Champion Carol Heiss.[3]

He won a bronze medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics at the age of 19.[4][5]

In both 1959 and 1960, he won a silver medal at the World Championships.[5] The 1961 event was cancelled after the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of many of Jackson's contemporaries in the US figure skating team. He had not been scheduled to attend the championships that year and was luckily not on board the fatal flight.[3] In 1962, at the World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jackson became world champion and made history by landing the first triple Lutz in international competition.[5]

He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1962,[6] and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1977.[5][7]

Jackson is the former director of skating and was also a coach at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario.[6]

In 1997, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (CM).[6][7][8] He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.[9]

In 2004, Jackson was included in the first induction of the Lisgar Collegiate Institute Athletic Wall of Fame, as part of the 160th Anniversary celebrations.[10]

In 2012, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario (OOnt).[11]

In May 2016, aged 76 years old, Jackson appeared in a couple of Stars on Ice shows in Canada, performing a duet with Kurt Browning. His part included an Axel jump and a waltz jump.[12]

Results

Event1956195719581959196019611962
Winter Olympics3rd
World Championships7th4th2nd2nd1st
North American Championships4th1st1st
Canadian Championships2nd2nd2nd1st1st1st1st

References