The Most Famous

SKATERS from United Kingdom

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This page contains a list of the greatest British Skaters. The pantheon dataset contains 483 Skaters, 7 of which were born in United Kingdom. This makes United Kingdom the birth place of the 16th most number of Skaters behind Hungary, and Czechia.

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary British Skaters of all time. This list of famous British Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of Madge Syers

1. Madge Syers (1881 - 1917)

With an HPI of 60.18, Madge Syers is the most famous British Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages on wikipedia.

Florence Madeline "Madge" Syers (née Cave, 16 September 1881 – 9 September 1917) was a British figure skater. She became the first woman to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1902 by entering what was previously an all-male event and won the silver medal, which prompted the International Skating Union (ISU) to create a separate ladies' championship. Syers was the winner of the first two ladies' events in 1906 and 1907 and went on to become the Olympic champion at the 1908 Olympics, the first Olympic Games to include figure skating. She also competed as a pairs skater with her husband Edgar Syers, winning the bronze medal at the 1908 Olympics.

Photo of Edgar Syers

2. Edgar Syers (1863 - 1946)

With an HPI of 55.43, Edgar Syers is the 2nd most famous British Skater.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Edgar Morris Wood Syers (18 March 1863 – 16 February 1946) was a British figure skater who competed in both singles and pair skating. As a singles skater, he won the bronze medal at the 1899 World Championships. At age 45, he competed with his wife Madge Syers at the 1908 London Summer Olympics, coming in last but winning the bronze as only three pairs competed in this event, became the oldest figure skating Olympic medalist. He was also a figure skating coach.

Photo of Cecilia Colledge

3. Cecilia Colledge (1920 - 2008)

With an HPI of 54.59, Cecilia Colledge is the 3rd most famous British Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Magdalena Cecilia Colledge (28 November 1920 – 12 April 2008) was a British figure skater. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1937–1939 European Champion, and a six-time (1935–1939, 1946) British national champion. Colledge is credited as being the first female skater to perform a double jump, as well as being the inventor of both the camel spin and the layback spin.

Photo of Ethel Muckelt

4. Ethel Muckelt (1885 - 1953)

With an HPI of 52.43, Ethel Muckelt is the 4th most famous British Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ethel Muckelt (30 May 1885 – 13 December 1953) was a British figure skater who competed in singles and pairs. As a single skater, she won the bronze medal at the 1924 Winter Olympics. As a pair skater, she placed fifth at the 1920 Summer Olympics with Sydney Wallwork. With John Page, she won the silver medal at the 1924 World Figure Skating Championships and placed fourth at that year's Olympics. Muckelt came from a family of prosperous dye manufacturers. She was one of the oldest Winter Olympics medallists, as she was 38 in 1924, and she continued competing into her fifties.

Photo of John Curry

5. John Curry (1949 - 1994)

With an HPI of 52.14, John Curry is the 5th most famous British Skater.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, World and Olympic Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating.

Photo of Robin Cousins

6. Robin Cousins (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 49.08, Robin Cousins is the 6th most famous British Skater.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Robin John Cousins MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978–1980) and four-time British national champion (1977–1980), winning all of these titles during his amateur career. He followed this with a successful career as a professional figure skater and later starred in ice shows as well as producing several of his own. He is able to spin in either direction, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, which is an unusual skill for a figure skater. Off the ice, Cousins has commentated on figure skating events for the BBC, and he assumed the position of head judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice show from 2006 to 2014. He has also appeared in theatre productions, including the West End.

Photo of Christopher Dean

7. Christopher Dean (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 47.56, Christopher Dean is the 7th most famous British Skater.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. They were also four-time world and European champions and seven-time British champions.

People

Pantheon has 7 people classified as British skaters born between 1863 and 1958. Of these 7, 2 (28.57%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living British skaters include Robin Cousins, and Christopher Dean. The most famous deceased British skaters include Madge Syers, Edgar Syers, and Cecilia Colledge. As of April 2024, 7 new British skaters have been added to Pantheon including Madge Syers, Edgar Syers, and Cecilia Colledge.

Living British Skaters

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Deceased British Skaters

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Newly Added British Skaters (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Skaters were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Skaters since 1700.