American Figure Skating In The Cold War

The Cold War fought between the Eastern and Western powers, specifically, the newly emerged world superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union changed the relationship between these two countries forever. The war resulted in a contentious relationship between the United States and the Soviets that manifested itself through the space race, technological innovation, sports and specifically figure skating. Although the Cold War ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the lifting of the Iron Curtain, the United States and the Soviet Union continued to compete for supremacy by besting each other in one of the oldest Olympic events-- figure skating.

Figure skating symbolizes one of the world's’ oldest rivalries, which coincides

1948 was the turning point for the United States in the Olympics with Dick Button winning the Gold being the first American male figure skater to win a medal at the Olympics. Dick Button emerged as the leader of the golden age of American figure skating winning the first gold for the United States men only one year after the start of the Cold War. Dick Button became the face of United States sports, demonstrating North American developments during the war years through his athleticism, when he won the gold medal again at the 1952 Olympics, being the only man to win a consecutive Olympic gold medal since World War II (Hines 150). The 1956 Olympics was another unforgettable year for United States figure skating-- for the first time, the United States won the first, second, and third place in a single category further demonstrating the United States growing supremacy in figure skating. The United States continued their domination with a gold in 1960, a bronze in 1964, and a silver in 1968. After two decades of American domination, the United States experienced an eight-year medal drought when they didn't place during the 1972 and the 1976 Olympics (“Individual Men”). The United States restarted their domination period at the 1980 Olympics winning the bronze, this was then followed by winning the gold medal in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and the winning of the silver in 1992 (“Individual men”). During this second domination period, two of most celebrated skaters in history, Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano, emerged at the Olympic level both receiving gold medals for their iconic performances. The United States’ next medal wasn't until 2002 when Timothy Goebel won the bronze, losing to two Russian Skaters (“Individual men”). In 2014 Evan Lysacek won the gold for the United States, becoming the first American man to win the