Re: Sarah a legend?
Well, I have been a fan of figure skating and followed it since early sixties on TV and the name Dick Button has never come up in any connection on newspapers or on TV. Of course it is different for those people who remember figure skating from late fourties and early fifties (I remember Heiss from fifties though, from the non-stops) and who were involved with skating as officials, etc. Only on Internet in 1996 I read how many people don´t like Button´s commentary, LOL. Gradually I understood that he has been a skater. And later seen his name on the skating statistics also. Quite different than Sonia Henie, who got mentioned sometimes on newspapers and of whom I first learned from my parents.
And as I look the results from Europeans at
www.eskatefans.com/skatab...romen.html
I don´t see from those statistics that there has been competitors from any countries outside Europe in men´s event since that competiton started to exist, and not in 1947 either (there was a war in Europe in fourties). So, the 1948 one where Dick Button participated seems to be the only expection in men´s event with a competitor outside the Europe.
With ladies the matter is different. There has been a winner from Canada, Barbara Ann Scott in 1947 (USA won sliver) and 1948, and participants from USA also in thirties. So, I very much doubt that Button´s win in 1948 men´s event was the reason to limit the competition for the European countries only. One can see in 1949 ladies competitions six participants from GBR, also the number of participants from each country has been changed later. Maybe the reason to limit the competition for Europeans only was the growing number of European participants in ladies event? The number of the participating countries was also growing there. The men´s events were a lot smaller. In 1947 6 participants, 1948 / 9 (with two participants from USA) and 1949 / 6 again. The ladies event had 20 participants in 1947.
About skating legends, LOL, everyone has the right to different opinions of course... I personally think that there is only one skating legend, and that is Sonja Henie. To win e.g. two Olympic gold medals does not automatically make one a skating legend (a universal one), there needs to be much more. In my opinion there is a huge difference between being a skating legend, a skating icon and a very popular skater. I understand about Button that he has taught to Americans about figure skating, has been on American TV a long time. I can understand him being a huge local icon, but in Europe the matters are different. We have not seen those broadcasts. He also did arrange pro competitions in USA, which we did not get to see on our TV in Europe.
Marjaana
