John Rutherford Heaton (September 8, 1908 – September 10, 1976) was an American

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der and

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

racer who competed from the late 1920s to the late 1940s. Heaton was the youngest son of John Edward Heaton and Florence Caroline Trowbridge of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. He had two brothers, Jennison (also an Olympic bobsledder and skeleton racer) and Trowbridge. Heaton married four times, first to Gwendolyn Robinson de Alzaga Unzue in 1937. He married Denise Paule Genest in 1950 and had a son, John Edward Heaton, born in 1951. He then married Heidi Von Lauer Mundchofen in 1959 and Beatrix Bayer in 1965. Heaton competed in three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. He won two silver medals in the skeleton in 1928 and 1948, and one bronze in the bobsled in 1932. At the 1948 games in

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, he was the American team's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. In the late 1920s, Heaton toured the world with friends

Billy Fiske William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the 1928 Winter Olympics, 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics, Fiske won gold as driver for the US Bobsleigh at the Win ...

(fellow Olympic medalist and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

hero) and Francis "Frankie" Rhodes (nephew of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

). They traveled to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The Heaton Gold Cup was presented in 1933 by the three Heaton brothers and their mother. It remains one of the classic skeleton events of the St. Moritz "Cresta" season. Heaton was one of the pioneers of the Portillo ski resort and skiing in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in the 1940s. The Roca Jack is named after him. Heaton died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in 1976 at age 68.

References

Bobsleigh two-man Olympic medalists 1932-56 and since 1964

List of American flag bearers during the Winter Olympic opening ceremonies

1908 births 1976 deaths Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut American male bobsledders American male skeleton racers Olympic skeleton racers for the United States Bobsledders at the 1932 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 1928 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in skeleton Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in bobsleigh Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics American expatriate sportspeople in France American expatriate sportspeople in Chile 20th-century American sportsmen {{Skeleton-bio-stub