Ronald Ludington (September 4, 1934 – May 14, 2020) was an American figure skating coach and

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

Nancy Rouillard Ludington Nancy Irene Rouillard (married names: Ludington, Graham, born July 25, 1939) is an American former pair skater. Personal life Rouillard was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She has been married twice, once to pairs partner Ronald Ludington in 19 ...

, he was the 1960 Olympic bronze medalist, 1959 World bronze medalist, and a four-time U.S. national champion.

Career

With his then-wife,

, he won the U.S. Championships in

pair skating 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 ...

four times, between 1957 and 1960, after having been the junior national champions in 1956. They won bronze medals at the 1959

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

and

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

. Ludington also won the 1958 U.S. junior (silver) dance championship, partnered with Judy Ann Lamar. Following his competitive career, Ludington took up coaching in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

. His first pupils included

Patricia Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. Another we ...

and Robert Dineen, who were killed along with the rest of the U.S. team in the crash of

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, kill ...

on their way to the 1961 World Championships. Ludington was not on the plane because neither he nor the Dineens had the money to fund his travel expenses. It was the only World Championships from 1957 to the end of the century which he did not attend as either a competitor or a coach. Around 1970, due to limited ice time in Detroit, Ludington moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

to coach at the Skating Club of Wilmington. In 1987, he became the director of the University of Delaware's Ice Skating Science Development Center. He held that position until 2010. Ludington coached the following skaters: * Cozette Cady / Jack Courtney, US national pair bronze medalists *

Kitty Carruthers Caitlin A. "Kitty" Carruthers (born May 30, 1961) is an American former pair skater. With her adoptive brother, Peter Carruthers, she is the 1984 Olympic Silver medalist, a 1982 World Bronze medalist, and a four-time (1981–1984) United Stat ...

/ Peter Carruthers, pairs silver medalists at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

* John Coughlin (1985-2019) * Carol Fox /

Richard Dalley Richard John Dalley (born August 2, 1957) is an American former competitive ice dancer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he competed in ice dance with Carol Fox at the 1984 Winter Olympics. The dance team is probably the most decorated team never to ...

, ice dancers at the 1984 Olympics * Gale Fuhrman /

Joel Fuhrman Joel Fuhrman (born December 2, 1953) is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the "nutritarian" diet which emphasizes nutrient-dense foods.

, US national pair silver medalists *

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 ...

/ Johnny Johns, U.S. national pair champions * Lea Ann Miller /

William Fauver William Benjamin Fauver (born March 2, 1954, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American former 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 perfor ...

* Kim Seybold /

Wayne Seybold Wayne Seybold (born September 5, 1963) is formerly the mayor of Marion, Indiana and a former Olympic pair skater representing the United States. Competing with his sister Natalie Seybold, he won five senior international medals, became a two- ...

Stacey Smith Stacey or Stacy Smith may refer to: * Stacy Smith (news anchor) (born c. 1949), American news anchor * Stacey Smith (figure skater) (born 1954), American ice dancer * Stacey Smith? (born 1972), Australian-Canadian mathematician * Stacey-Ann Smith ( ...

/ John Summers, three-time U.S. national champion ice dancers * Calla Urbanski /

Rocky Marval Rocco Marvaldi, known professionally as Rocky Marval, (born November 11, 1965) is an American former pair skater. With Calla Urbanski, he is the 1991 Skate America champion, the 1992 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national cham ...

* (Lisa Spitz / Scott Gregory 1984 Ice dancers Olympics. Three time world competitors. * (Suzanne Semanick / Scott Gregory 1987, 1988 National Senior Dance Champions, 5th 1987 World Championships, 6th 1988 Olympics. *

Karen Courtland Karen Courtland Kelly (born October 12, 1970, in Orange, New Jersey) is a former American pair skater. With partner Todd Reynolds, she won the bronze medal at the United States Figure Skating Championships in 1993 and 1994 and finished 14th at t ...

/ Todd Reynolds, two-time US National Pair Bronze Medalists, 1993 US Olympic Festival Champions, 14th 1994 Olympics Ludington was named to the

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame was founded in 1976. Al Cartwright, who helped found it, was its first president and was inducted to its hall of fame in 1980. The current museum building was constructed in 1993. The Delaware Sports ...

in 2000, the

Professional Skaters Association The American Skaters Guild, later the Professional Skaters Guild of America and then the Professional Skaters Association, was the first skating teachers organization in North America. On August 10, 1938, a meeting took place of thirteen prominen ...

Coaches Hall of Fame in 2002, and the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located at the Broadmoor Resort in Co ...

in 1999.

Personal life

In 1957, Ludington married his skating partner, Nancy Rouillard. He later married Mary Batdorf, a skating coach. They had a son, Michael, before divorcing in the mid-1970s. Ludington married this third wife, Karen, who also was a professional skater. The marriage ended in divorce in 2011. Ludington died on May 14, 2020, at the age of 85.

Results

Pairs

(with

Nancy Ludington Nancy Irene Rouillard ( married names: Ludington, Graham, born July 25, 1939) is an American former pair skater. Personal life Rouillard was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She has been married twice, once to pairs partner Ronald Ludington in ...

)

Ice dance

(with Lamar)

References

* Scott Hamilton, ''Landing It''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington, Ronald 1934 births 2020 deaths American male pair skaters American male ice dancers American figure skating coaches Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating University of Delaware people Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from Boston 20th-century American sportsmen