Elvis Stojko Biography - Early Influences, Taking On The World, Quest To Stay On Top, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments
skater figure jump athletic
1972-
Canadian figure skater
During the 1990s Canadian skater Elvis Stojko (pronounced STOY-ko) revolutionized the field of men's figure skating with his athletic prowess. In 1991 he became the first figure skater to land a quadruple jump followed by a double jump at the world championships, and then in 1997 he surpassed himself by becoming the first person to land a quadruple-triple combination. Although Stojko was often hampered by judges who preferred dance-based, graceful programs to Stojko's athletic, often martial arts-inspired offerings, he still won the world championships three times, twice finished second at the Olympics, and earned the unofficial title "the King of Jumps" from sportswriters and fans.
Additional Topics
As the family story goes, when Stojko was two he saw figure skating on the family television, pointed at the screen, and declared, "I do dat!" His mother, Irene, signed him up for skating lessons at age five, and within a few years he was jumping better than many adult skaters. At age 15 he became the Canadian junior champion; Canada's other male figure skating stars, Brian Or…
When Stojko graduated to the adult level of competition, he quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with there as well, finishing ninth at the 1990 world championships. He moved up in 1991, but only to sixth, despite landing an unprecedented quadruple-double jump combination. Then he suffered a major disappointment at the 1992 Olympics. In sixth place after the short program, he fini…
Stojko retained the title of world champion in 1995, despite suffering a partially torn ligament in his ankle a few weeks before that prevented him from practicing many of his jumps until ten days before the competition. He failed to nail the landing of his quadruple toe loop early in his long program, so to compensate he added an extra, unplanned jump combination, a triple toe loop-triple Lutz, f…
Bellafante, Ginia. "Look Who's Standing." Time (February 23, 1998): 76-77. Deacon, James. "Elvis Hasn't Quite Left the Building Yet." Maclean's (November 11, 2002): 89. ——. "Elvis Time!" Maclean's (February 16, 1998): 50-53. ——. "Leaps of Faith." Maclean's (February 9, 1998): 36-3…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments