| Figure skating at the VIII Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Olympic Games |
| Venue: | Blyth Arena |
| Champions | |
Men's singles:  David Jenkins | |
| Ladies' singles: Carol Heiss | |
Pairs:  Barbara Wagner / Robert Paul | |
| Previous: 1956 Winter Olympics | |
| Next: 1964 Winter Olympics | |
Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics took place at the Blyth Arena in Squaw Valley, California, United States. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles and pair skating.[1][2] It was the final time that figure skating at the Winter Olympics was conducted in a covered, but not enclosed, rink.[3]
On February 15, 1961, the entire United States figure skating team and several family members, coaches, and officials were killed when Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Brussels, Belgium, en route to the World Championships in Prague. The accident caused the cancellation of the 1961 World Championships and necessitated the building of a new American skating program.[4][5]
- ^ "Squaw Valley 1960, Figure skating results". olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Figure Skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
- ^ "Air Crash Fatal to 73 Is Probed – Jet's Plunge Kills Skaters". The Spokesman-Review. 16 February 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ^ Ford, Bonnie D. (2011). "Still Crystal Clear". ESPN. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
The plane crash that killed the 1961 U.S. world championship figure skating team decimated families and the sport, but alongside grief came renewal.