Hans Muller was, and still is, one of the best ice skaters the world has ever known. The result of 1947 was due to the excellent school skating of Hans, who not only then, and until he turned pro after the 1948 Olympics, was the best school skater in the world, but I think that even now he still qualifies for that. distinction. Hans was also a top-tier free skater, but when it came to competitions, so early after the war, when all the young British athletes, as well as those who had chosen to stay here, still suffered from nervous tension, especially those who were Had remained. in London, as Hans had done, in addition to the inevitable malnutrition among those who did not fall into the category of workers, he could not reproduce his true form under the tense excitement of a European or World Championship.
Those, however, who were lucky enough to have seen its displays at hockey games and other such joyous occasions, realize how beautiful it was. This was the situation when once again in the arena of the 1948 European, World and Winter Olympic Games a new Richard Button jumped, who, together with his coach Gustav Lussi, had seen and noted down everything there was to learn in Europe. on the school figures. The result was the invincible Dick, winner of the European in 1948 (before the rule that limited him to Europeans came in), five world titles and two Olympians. This was the man who captured everyone’s imagination for the athleticism and strength of his skating, as well as the exuberance of his personality. He put a new craze in freestyle, one that has now become part of the scheme of things, for a free program without double and even triple jumps, without combinations of jumps and spins, on the lines that this great skater for the first time. American, it would certainly be considered absurdly easy in any major competition.
I must make a statement here, however, to the effect that Cecilia Colledge had accomplished the double Salchow and experimented with other double jumps before the war began. It should also be remembered that the pre-war leaps were not as high as they are today in the immediate pre-war years, and consequently nothing out of the ordinary did not catch the attention of the “experts”, those to whom Grafstrom and Schafer used to laugh, so what good would it be to risk something more difficult in a major competition when it would probably go unnoticed?
It was only when Dick Button jumped his special jumps at the height of the barrier that they simply had to be paid attention to.
Therefore, except for the fact that there were no resident title holders, the position in the immediate postwar years was identical to that in the early 1920s; that is, a new style that overlaps and overwhelms the old. Just as Grafstrom in 1920 had fascinated the skating world of his time with the sheer beauty of his every move, Button now thrilled and stimulated him, with the strength and virility of his performance.
All young skaters were inspired by a burning desire to emulate the fiery jumps of the new teacher, and to such an extent was this that within a few years for the 1952 Olympics these jumps were not only included in the program of the honors candidates of the championship, but actually we started to see them both in youth competitions and in both women’s and men’s events.
After Button decided to join the professional ranks, not as a teacher, but as a show skater, with a wonderful contract, with a wonderful figure, a contract that does not interfere with his education for the legal profession, at the law school of Harvard, his mantle fell on his compatriot Hayes Alan Jenkins, who won all four world titles, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956 and the 56 Olympic crown with consummate ease, and who improves every year, so much so that now it can be said that we see him in it a combination of the delicate artistry of Grafstrom combined with the athleticism of Dick Button. Hopefully, you will not succumb to the temptation of large amounts of money, which, of course, is yours to ask for, in any case. She has a brother David, who is also a great performer, and these two with compatriot Ronald Robertson, whose father, incidentally, hails from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, present formidable rivals for their European competitors. Now what about the ladies? Who are the highlights? And how do they compare to the giants of the past?
As I have already said, the first postwar Olympic and world winner (with the European of 1947 and 1948, before the new rule) was the little Canadian Barbara Ann Scott who won two world titles, 1947 and 1948, as well as the Olympic female. 1948 competition. She came here looking like a Dresden porcelain figurine, delicate and serene, without the nerve of war, and won her laurels in conditions unique in history.
