Johnny Johns (born August 9, 1951) is an American

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

coach and former competitor. Competing in ice dancing with Mary Campbell, he became the 1973 national champion and finished 6th at the 1973 World Championships. Competing as a

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

with

Melissa Militano Melissa Mary Militano (later Warkmeister; April 26, 1955 – July 16, 2024) was an American competitive figure skater who competed as a single skater and pair skater. As a pair skater, she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships three times, i ...

, he became a two-time (1974 and 1975) U.S. national champion and finished 6th at the 1975 World Championships.

Personal life

Johns was born on August 9, 1951. He is from the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area. For a number of years he split his time between skating and Little League Baseball, where he had developed the ability to pitch both left- and right-handed. He attended regular schools during his skating career and studied at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

in the early 1970s.

Skating career

Competitive

Johns began learning to skate as a family activity when he was eight years old. He learned how to do jumps in both directions and also developed a very smooth stroking style. When his coach left the Detroit area, Johns began to work with

Ronald Ludington Ronald Ludington (September 4, 1934 – May 14, 2020) was an American figure skating coach and pair skater. With Nancy Rouillard Ludington, he was the 1960 Olympic bronze medalist, 1959 World bronze medalist, and a four-time U.S. national cha ...

, who insisted that he give up on baseball and concentrate of skating year-round. Ludington was responsible for pairing him up first with Mary Karen Campbell in dance, and then with Laurie Johnson in pairs. Johns and Mary Campbell became the 1973 national champions in

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

. They competed together at three World Championships, achieving their highest placement, 6th, in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. He and

won the U.S. national pairs' title in 1974 and 1975. They placed 8th at the 1974 World Championships and 6th in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Post-competitive

Johns coached at the Detroit Skating Club for 27 years before moving to the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in

Canton, Michigan Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly west of downtown Detroit, and e ...

in 2006. He coached

Marcy Hinzmann Marcy Hinzmann-Simpson (born May 26, 1982) is an American former competitive pair skater. With Aaron Parchem, she is the 2006 U.S. national silver medalist and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Personal life Marcy Hinzmann was born May 26 ...

/ Aaron Parchem to the Olympics and

Steve Hartsell Steve Hartsell (born January 6, 1978, Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American former competitive pair skater. With sister Danielle Hartsell, he is the 1999 U.S. National Champion and the 1997 World Junior Champion. After his sister retired, he ska ...

Danielle Hartsell Danielle Hartsell (born November 21, 1980, in Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, maki ...

to a World Junior title. He has also coached Brooke Castile / Ben Okolski and

Tessa Virtue Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medallist, a three-time World champion (2010, 2012, 2017) ...

Scott Moir Scott Patrick Moir ( ; born September 2, 1987) is a Canadian retired ice dancer and coach. With ice dance partner Tessa Virtue, he is the Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics, 2010 and Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Olym ...

. In January 2019, he relocated to the Hertz Arena in

Estero, Florida Estero (Spanish for "estuary") is an incorporated village in Lee County, Florida, United States, located directly beside the first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida: The Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, otherwise referred to as Estero B ...

Results

Men's singles

Pairs with Johnson and Benenson

Pairs with Militano

Ice dancing with Campbell

References

Skatabase: 1970s Pairs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Johnny American male pair skaters American male ice dancers American figure skating coaches People from Wayne County, Michigan Living people 1951 births 20th-century American sportsmen