Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympic Ice Rink in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.[1]

Figure skating at the V Winter Olympics
Type:Olympic Games
Champions
Men's singles:
United States Dick Button
Ladies' singles:
Canada Barbara Ann Scott
Pair skating:
Belgium Micheline Lannoy / Pierre Baugniet
Previous:
1936 Winter Olympics
Next:
1952 Winter Olympics

Event summary

Barbara Ann Scott became the first Canadian to win the figure skating gold medal while Dick Button became the first American to win a figure skating title for the United States. Button also became the first figure skater to perform a double Axel in competition. The pair of Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet became the first Belgians to win the figure skating gold medal, as well as the first Belgians to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

The competition began with the men's compulsory figures on 2 February. However, the next day, competition was postponed in the midst of the ladies' figures event due to a thaw that left puddles of water on the outdoor ice surface. On 5 February competition had to be resumed, regardless of poor ice conditions, in order to allow the Games to finish on schedule. The pairs event on 7 February was skated in a heavy snowstorm, with the ice having to be scraped after each program.[2]

Medal summary

Medalists
Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's singles
 Dick Button (USA)  Hans Gerschwiler (SUI)  Edi Rada (AUT)
Ladies' singles
 Barbara Ann Scott (CAN)  Eva Pawlik (AUT)  Jeannette Altwegg (GBR)
Pairs skating
 Micheline Lannoy
and Pierre Baugniet (BEL)		  Andrea Kékesy
and Ede Király (HUN)		  Suzanne Morrow
and Wallace Diestelmeyer (CAN)

Medal table
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Canada1012
2 Belgium1001
 United States1001
4 Austria0112
5 Hungary0101
 Switzerland0101
7 Great Britain0011
Totals (7 entries)3339

References
  1. "Figure Skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  2. "The Olympics: 1948 and 1952", Skating magazine, February 1960
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