Donald McPherson (figure skater)

John Donald McPherson (February 20, 1945 – November 24, 2001) was a Canadian figure skater. He is the 1963 World Champion and the 1963 Canadian national champion. He represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where he placed 10th at the age of 15. He turned 15 years old during the Olympic figure skating competition.[1]

Donald McPherson
Donald McPherson in 1972
Personal information
Full nameJohn Donald McPherson
Country represented Canada
Born(1945-02-20)February 20, 1945
Windsor, Ontario
DiedNovember 24, 2001(2001-11-24) (aged 56)
Munich, Germany
Skating clubStratford Figure Skating Club
Retired1963

Donald McPherson started to skate with the age of 4. He represented the Stratford Figure Skating Club in Ontario, and was coached by Dennis Silverthorne. He won the 1963 World Figure Skating Championships at the age of 18, becoming the youngest men's World Champion. McPherson won his World title skating on an unusual pair of skates with small serrations in the blades.[2]

Following that win, he turned professional, starring in Dick Button's Ice-Travanganza at the 1964 New York World's Fair.[3] He also toured for 11 years for Holiday on Ice, and won the 1965 World Professional Figure Skating Championships.

He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1963[4] and the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1996.

Donald McPherson was inducted into the Stratford Sports Hall of Fame in the Athlete's Section on Saturday April 16, 2011 along with Howie Morenz, Larry Landreth and Jodeyne Higgins' Also inducted were the 1977 JS News Peewees Baseball team and the 1952 Stratford Indians Senior Men's Hockey team in the Team Category. Denis 'Dinny' Flanagan was inducted in the builder's category.

Later in life, he moved to Munich, Germany. He died of complications arising from diabetes in Munich on November 24, 2001.[5]

Competitive highlights
Event 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
Winter Olympic Games10th
World Championships8th4th1st
North American Championships6th5th1st
Canadian Championships1st J.2nd2nd2nd1st
  • J = Junior level

References
  1. Donald McPherson. sports-reference.com
  2. "Champion of the World", Skating magazine, June 1963
  3. "Spins through Professional Circles", Skating magazine, November 1963
  4. Canada Sports Hall of Fame - Honoured Members: Profile Archived December 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Skater McPherson dead at 56". CBC Sports. November 29, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
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