Gustave Lussi

Gustave François Lussi (* 1898 in Stans ; † June 23, 1993 ) was a Swiss figure skating coach .

Life

Lussi was born in Stans. He himself was not a performance sports figure skaters , but ski jumpers . However, when he fell while ski jumping, he gave up this sport and devoted himself to figure skating. His personal experience in figure skating was limited to recreational ice skating on the frozen Lake Lucerne in his childhood. Due to a lack of money, he had no opportunity to practice figure skating as a competitive sport, but he managed to learn figure skating from a competitive athlete in order to be able to later become his coaching assistant in exchange for it. He vowed that if he couldn't become world champion himself, he would make another world champion through his training.

At the age of 20 he emigrated to the United States immediately after World War I and settled in Philadelphia . His first student was Egbert S. Carey Jr., who he helped to win the US Junior Championship in 1924. From 1932 he trained at the Olympic ice rink in Lake Placid , one of the few ice rinks at the time that also had ice in summer.

Lussi's students included numerous masters such as Richard Button , Donald Jackson , Ronald Robertson , Barbara Ann Scott , Hayes Alan Jenkins , David Jenkins , Dorothy Hamill , John Misha Petkevich and John Curry .

Gustave Lussi died on June 23, 1993 at the age of 95.

Lussi's runners were known for their great turning technique. He also developed new jumping techniques that are now standard. His student Richard Button was the first to triple jump and his students pioneered the pirouettes.

Many of Lussi's students became successful coaches themselves, passing on Lussi's techniques to younger generations of figure skaters. They include Mary Scotvold , Robin Wagner , Evelyn Kramer and Priscilla Hill . Wagner brought Sarah Hughes to the 2002 Olympic title and Sasha Cohen to her first world championship medal. Priscilla Hill helped Johnny Weir to three national championships. Evelyn Cramer, known as the "spin doctor", has helped numerous runners, such as Robin Cousins and Michelle Kwan , improve their turning skills.

Gustave Lussi was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Gus Lussi Speaks", Skating magazine, Jun 1970