Ray Ellis Hadley Jr. (October 6, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American

figure skater 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, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

who competed in pairs and

ice dance 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. Ac ...

with his sister

Ila Ray Hadley Ila Ray Hadley (September 18, 1942 – February 15, 1961), was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and ice dance with her brother Ray Hadley, Jr. Hadley was born in Renton, Washington. She and her brother won the bronze medal in ...

. Hadley was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He and his sister won the bronze medal in pairs at the

1960 United States Figure Skating Championships The 1960 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was held at the Civic Ice Arena in Seattle from January 27 through 30, 1960. Medals were awarded in three colors: gold (first), silver (second), and bronze (third) in four disciplines – men's single ...

and competed in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) 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 h ...

and

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

that year. The next year, they finished second in pairs at the U.S. Championships and fourth at the

North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial (every two years) competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating ...

. They died along with their step-mother, who also served as their coach, on February 15, 1961, when

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 flight operated by Sabena that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport, crashed on approach to B ...

crashed in Belgium en route to the World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He was 17 years old. His parents met in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

and Hadley and his sister are buried in that city.

Results

Pairs

Ice Dance

References

External links

U.S. Figure Skating biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, Ray American male pair skaters American male ice dancers Olympic figure skaters for the United States Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics 1943 births 1961 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1961 20th-century American sportsmen