Donald McPherson started figure skating at the age of four. He started for the Stratford Figure Skating Club, which is based in Ontario . The Olympic Games in 1960 , where he was 15 years old, he finished tenth. In the years 1960 to 1962 he was Canadian runner-up behind Donald Jackson , who became world champion in 1962 . In his triumph, he just missed the podium in fourth. In 1963, McPherson himself succeeded his compatriot and won the world championship at the age of 18, making him the youngest men's figure skating world champion in history to this day . He then ended his amateur career , turned professional and then worked for Holiday on Ice for 10 years .
Donald McPherson was inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1995. Later in his life he moved to Munich and died there on November 24, 2001 of complications from diabetes .
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