Elvis Stojko

Elvis Stojko

Stojko at Canada House during the 2002 Winter Olympics
Personal Information
Country represented:	Canada
Date of birth:	March 22, 1972 (1972-03-22) (age 37)
Height:	170 cm (5.6 ft)
Former coach:	Uschi Keszler, Dough Leigh
Skating club:	Richmond Hill FSC
Retired:	2002

Elvis Stojko, MSC, MSM (born March 22, 1972 in Newmarket, Ontario) is a Canadian figure skating world champion.

Personal life

His parents named him after Elvis Presley because they were fans of the singer. Stojko has chosen Presley's music as accompaniment during exhibitions.

Stojko's parents immigrated to Canada in the '50s, his Slovenian father came on a boat in 1955 and his Hungarian-born mother, Irenee, escaped through the Russian Invasion in 1956. Elvis was born in Newmarket, Ontario and grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He began skating at the age of 4 and won his first trophy when he was 6; as a child he also studied karate, earning a black belt when he was 16. He has sometimes incorporated martial arts moves into his skating. He also likes to ride dirt bikes.

Stojko has written a book about his career called "Heart and Soul" and he has been involved with Ronald McDonald Children's Charities in Canada.

Career

1991 - 1993

At the 1991 World Championships, he became the first person to land a quadruple-double jump combination. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he finished 6th despite skating a technically flawless routine, but a month later he made his first appearance on a major international podium when he placed 3rd at the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships behind winner Viktor Petrenko and Kurt Browning. In 1993 at the World Figure Skating Championships he finished 2nd, once again behind Kurt Browning.

1994 - 1998

Elvis made his mark on the figure skating world in 1994, beginning with the Canadian National Championships in Edmonton. Skating to the soundtrack of "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story." He defeated Kurt Browning in the free skate to win his first Canadian National Championship. At the 1994 Winter Olympics at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, he skated well enough in the short program to place second, putting him in good position heading into the free skate, after three of the pre-Olympic favourites (Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko & Kurt Browning) had disappointing short programs. Elvis skated flawlessly in the free skate, despite popping a planned triple axel combination. His presentation marks, however, were lower than expected, (including a 5.5 from the Russian judge)and the gold medal went to Russian skater Alexei Urmanov instead. Many figure skating fans felt that Elvis was robbed of the gold in Lillehammer. Elvis, however, put all that behind him, and entered the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan as the favourite. He did not disappoint and won his first world championship with a stellar performance which included another quadruple jump.

Elvis suffered a serious ankle injury during practice for the Canadian Championships in 1995, but was determined to compete anyway. He began his short program but was not able to complete it due to the injury, and was awarded a bye to the 1995 World Championships. His 1995 World Championship skate is regarded as one of his most impressive competitive outings because he completed his full routine despite his still-unhealed injury. Although in second place after the short program behind American Todd Eldredge, Elvis won the free skate - and his second world championship - with a memorable performance which included a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination in the closing seconds of his program.

The 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta was a homecoming of sorts for Elvis, but his entire nation was shocked when he fell on his triple axel combo jump. This mistake left him in a disappointing 7th place after the short program. With nothing to lose in the free skate, and with the support of his home town crowd, Elvis delivered a superb routine which included his quadruple jump combination (the only one in the competition). His performance moved all the way up to fourth, just off the podium behind American Rudy Galindo, who won the bronze. His quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop was the first ever performed by a skater in world-class competition.

Elvis won the 1997 Grand Prix finals in Hamilton, Ontario, skating to the movie soundtrack of "Dragon Heart." Two other skaters also landed quad jumps during the free skate (Ilia Kulik & Alexei Urmanov) but not in combination as Elvis did. At the World Championships later that year, he again skated flawlessly during the short program, but because of an early draw where he skated well before the other favourites, he ended up fourth after the short program. The free skate of the 1997 World Championships is now remembered as one of the most dramatic nights in men's figure skating history. Approximately halfway through the free skate, Alexei Urmanov, leader after the short program, withdrew from the event with an injury. Ilia Kulik, in third, had a disastrous free skate which put him out of contention. Elvis then took the ice with his "Dragon Heart" program and again landed his famous quad-triple combination in a flawless routine that earned him two perfect scores of 6.0 and another world title.

Elvis entered the 1998 Winter Olympic games in Nagano, Japan as the heavy favourite, and was expected to become the first Canadian man to win an Olympic gold medal. Unknown to most of the world, Elvis had suffered a groin injury, and was also recovering from the flu which struck many other athletes during the Games. This left Elvis unable to take painkillers due to the possibility of failing his drug test. The first sign that something wasn't right was the downgrade of his quad-triple combination in the free skate. (It was scored as a triple-triple due to a minor glitch). The media, and most of the world, became aware of his injury only when Elvis doubled over in pain after his long program. His courageous and difficult performance did, however, earn him the silver medal, although he found it too painful to skate during the medal presentation ceremony, and limped onto the podium wearing sneakers. He chose not to attend the World Championships that year because he did not want to make his groin injury worse. After the Olympics, though, he gave an interview about the performance and wept when people referred to him as "gutsy" and "full of courage".

1999 - 2002

He finished 4th in the 1999 World Championships and 2nd at the 2000 World Championships. At the Salt Lake Winter Olympics in 2002, he placed 8th. He turned professional in 2002, but briefly reinstated as an Olympic-eligible skater and publicly declared his intention to compete in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, before changing his mind and resuming his professional skating career.

He retired from skating on August 10th, 2006. His last performance was a gala performance for the Mariposa skating club, where he trained most of his amateur career.

Stojko won silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics. He won the World Figure Skating Championships in 1994, 1995, and 1997. He also won the Canadian Championships in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2002.

Media appearances

• Elvis performed on Braided's CD "Casey, Ashley and Amber", singing "Before You".
• He guest starred as himself in "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2," an episode of The Simpsons that aired December 17, 2006.
• He appeared as a guest star as himself on the Canadian T.V show Chilly Beach.
• He choreographed and performed the ice skating sequences in the film Death to Smoochy.
• He performs a few skating sequences in CNE's Movie Magic.

Accomplishments

• 3-time World Figure skating champion: 1994, 1995, 1997
• 2-time Olympic Silver medalist: 1994, 1998
• 7-time Canadian Figure skating champion: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
• 1-time Four Continents champion: 2000
• 1-time Grand Prix Final Champions: 1996/1997
• 1-time winner of the Lionel Conacher Award: 1994
• First man to land a Quadruple double Jump in combination (Quadruple Toe-loop, Double Toe-loop): 1991 World Championships
• First man to land a Quadruple/Triple Jump combination (Quadruple Toe-loop, Triple Toe-loop): 1997 Grand Prix Finals

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in figure skating

References

• Canoe.ca (2005). SLAM! Presents Elvis Stojko. Retrieved July 2, 2005.
• Brenda Gorman (2005). Stojko, Elvis. Retrieved July 2, 2005.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elvis Stojko

• Elvis Stojko at the International Skating Union
• Meritorious Service Decorations Citations
• Elvis Stojko - Official Website