Robin Cousins,
MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive
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 me ...
who was
BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the
1980 Olympic champion, the
1980 European champion, a three-time
World medalist (1978–1980) and four-time British national champion (1977–1980), winning all of these titles during his amateur career. He followed this with a successful career as a professional figure skater and later starred in ice shows as well as producing several of his own. He is able to spin in either direction, both clockwise and anti-clockwise,
[ which is an unusual skill for a figure skater.
Off the ice, Cousins has commentated on figure skating events for the BBC, and he assumed the position of head judge on ITV's '']Dancing on Ice
''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...
'' show from 2006 to 2014. He has also appeared in theatre productions, including the West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of central London, England
* West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England
West End may also refer to:
Pl ...
.
Early life
Robin Cousins was born in Bristol to Jo, a secretary, and Fred, a civil servant,[ who was formerly a goalkeeper for Millwall.][ Cousins has two older brothers, Martin and Nick.
Cousins first stepped onto the ice at age six at Westover Road Ice Rink while on holiday in ]Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
.[ Having enjoyed the experience, he requested lessons for Christmas eighteen months later.][
As a young skater, Cousins trained in ice dancing at the same time as singles. His first coach was a dancer called Ms Pamela Davies,][ and he was later coached by Gladys Hogg at Queens Ice Rink and later coached by Carlo Fassi.][
Cousins left school at the age of sixteen to focus on figure skating.][ After moving to London, he found a job stacking shelves at Whiteley's department store.][
]
Competitive career
Cousins won his first national title in 1969, aged 12, at novice level.[ By the age of 14, he was Britain's junior champion, and he made his international debut that same year.
Cousins represented the United Kingdom as an amateur figure skater for eight years. He won the British National Senior Championships for four consecutive years (1977–1980); the free skating portion of the World Championships three times (1978–1980); and the silver medal at the World Championships in ]1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and 1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
.
He reached the pinnacle of his amateur career by winning gold medals both in the European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
and in the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980. At the Olympics, he was in second place behind Jan Hoffman after the compulsory figures and the short programme. Cousins skated a spectacular long programme, receiving 5.9/6.0 from eight of the nine judges for artistic impression. The silver medalist Hoffmann skated a technically superior performance, but six out of nine judges gave first place to Cousins, giving him the overall win and the gold medal. He was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 1980.
He turned professional in 1980 and went on to win the World Professional Men's Figure Skating Championships twice (1985 and 1987) and was a World Professional singles medalist four times (1986, 1990, 1991, 1992).
Later career
After turning professional in 1980, Cousins starred in various professional skating shows such as '' Holiday on Ice'' and '' Ice Capades'',[ whilst continuing to be a regular competitor in the World Professional Championships. He hit both the longest Axel jump and the longest back flip on figure skates in the ]Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, reaching 5.81 metres (19 ft 1 in) and 5.48 metres (18 ft) on 16 November 1983.[
In 1983, Cousins formed his own ice skating performance company, which toured the world with professional ice shows ''Electric Ice'' and ''Ice Majesty''. He has starred in, produced, directed, and/or choreographed many international TV ice shows, including ''The Nutcracker: A Fantasy on Ice'', ''Sleeping Beauty on Ice'', ''The Wizard of Oz on Ice'', ''Toy Story on Ice'', ]Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
's '' Starlight Express on Ice'', numerous productions for ''Holiday on Ice'', and the movie ''The Cutting Edge
''The Cutting Edge'' is a 1992 American sports-romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot is about a wealthy, spoiled figure skater (played by Moira Kelly) who is paired with an injury-sidelined ice ...
''.
Over several years, Cousins has been a regular guest presenter and commentator for BBC Sport, for the European and World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympics.[ He appeared as the head judge on the show '']Dancing on Ice
''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...
'' in each series from 2006 to 2014, but did not return to the show when it was revived in 2018.
Cousins has also performed on stage. He played the Prince in Rodgers and Hammerstein's '' Cinderella'', Munkustrap in ''Cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
'', Frank N Furter in '' The Rocky Horror Show'', Teen Angel in Grease, and Billy Flynn in Chicago in the West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of central London, England
* West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England
West End may also refer to:
Pl ...
. He has performed pantomime, playing Jack Frost in ''Santa Clause the return of Jack Frost'' at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. Prior to this he played the Prince in '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' at the Grand Opera House, Belfast.
Cousins has worked with the British synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...
team.[
In 2005, he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
In March 2016, Cousins joined the Art of the Olympians (AOTO) program.
]
Personal life
Cousins has undergone a total of eight operations, including a knee replacement in his fifties.[ His problems began at the 1974 World Championships , where he withdrew before the event started and returned to Bristol to have his first of two meniscus surgeries the second came immediately after the 1977 World Championships when his left knee cartilage ripped and locked in place.][ By 1980, he had undergone major surgery on both his left and right knees.][
In December 1980, Cousins was the subject of '']This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to:
Television
* ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards
* ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...
'', after being surprised by Eamonn Andrews in his home city of Bristol.
On 10 March 2012, he appeared on the gameshow '' All Star Family Fortunes'' with his nephews Tristan, Robin, James and Oliver. He also appeared on the gameshow '' Tipping Point Lucky Stars'' in August 2013.
Charity work
Cousins is a significant patron of the Meningitis UK organization and the Starr Trust children's charity in Brighton.
Programmes
Results
Amateur career
Professional career
References
External links
Cousins Entertainment
Robin Cousins skates to Julian Lloyd Webber's music
Television appearance, YouTube
Sleeping Beauty, A Ballet on Ice
" featuring Cousins. Program produced by WGBH WGBH may refer to:
* WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation
** WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...
, made available on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting by the University of Georgia Brown Media Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Robin
1957 births
BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners
British male single skaters
LGBT figure skaters
LGBT sportspeople from England
Gay sportsmen
Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Living people
Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain
English Olympic medallists
Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
Dancing on Ice
Sportspeople from Bristol
Olympic medalists in figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
European Figure Skating Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics