John Nicks, coach to Olympic medalists, dies at 97
The former world pairs champion mentored over 1,200 skaters from his base in California following a career-ending plane crash in 1961.
By Isaac Medina ·
John Nicks died Monday at age 97. The British-born figure skater and coach spent decades in the United States training athletes who went on to win Olympic and world medals. U.S. Figure Skating confirmed the news in a statement Tuesday.
Nicks was born in Brighton, England, on April 22, 1929. He began skating at age 9 because his father sold equipment at a retail store. He paired with his younger sister, Jennifer Nicks, and the duo won six British pairs titles. They competed in two Winter Olympics and collected four world championship medals. Jennifer died of a heart attack in 1980.
Nicks moved to Canada before the 1961 world championships. The U.S. team was traveling to Brussels, Belgium, when their plane crashed. The accident killed the entire American roster. Nicks received multiple coaching offers in the United States after the tragedy. He accepted a position at the Iceland Arena in Paramount, California. The rink was owned by Frank Zamboni, the inventor of the ice resurfacer.
During his tenure in California, Nicks trained more than 1,200 skaters. His students included world pairs champions Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. He also coached Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Wagner. He previously worked with Olympic champions Peggy Fleming and Kristi Yamaguchi.
Ashley Wagner posted a tribute on Wednesday. She described Nicks as a champion maker who taught her to care about the total performance package. "You made me a performer, a skater who learned to care so much more about the total package," Wagner wrote.
Matt Farrell, chief executive of U.S. Figure Skating, called Nicks a tremendous ambassador to the sport. Farrell said Nicks helped shape generations of American skaters. The organization honored Nicks by inducting him into its Hall of Fame in 1993. He also joined the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.
Nicks served as the national director for the Ice Capades chalets, a nationwide network of rinks. In recent years, the International Skating Union co-hosted a lower-level event with the Skating Club of New York and the Skating Club of Boston. That competition was named the John Nicks Pairs Challenge. Nicks is survived by his wife Yvonne Littlefield, his son Christopher, and his daughter Carolyn.
