Dick Button, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion who went on the become the Emmy-winning voice of Olympic figure skating broadcasts, died Thursday. He was 95. His son Edward confirmed the news to The Associated Press but didn’t not provide a cause or place of death.
Born on July 18, 1929, in Englewood, NJ, Button was a daring and innovative skater who in 1946, at just 16, became the first post-WWII U.S. champion. He then went to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where he won his first gold medal — propelled by landing the first double axel in any competition. He was the first American to win the men’s event.
He repeated at the 1952 Games in Oslo, this time hitting the first triple jump in competition. Button invented the one-footed flying camel spin, or “Button Spin,” which remains a staple of the sport, and also would be the first skater to land a combination of three double jumps. He remains the only skater to hold the national, North American, European, world and Olympic titles concurrently.
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