Ronald Joseph (born October 9, 1944) is an American former
pair skater who competed with his sister,
Vivian Joseph. They are the
1964 Olympic bronze medalists,
1965 World silver medalists, and 1965 North American champions.
Personal life
Joseph was born on October 9, 1944, in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and is the elder brother of
Vivian Joseph.
[ He is Jewish and worked as a hand surgeon in Arizona and ]Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Now retired.[
Joseph was diagnosed with ]amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...
.'It's the journey that counts': Olympic-winning figure skater becomes advocate for ALS through Mayo Clinic
/ref>
Career
The skating pair of Vivian and Ron Joseph began competing together by the late 1950s and became the U.S. national junior champions in 1961. They won the senior bronze medal in 1962 and silver the following year. They were assigned to the 1963 North American Championships, where they took the bronze medal, and to the 1963 World Championships, where they placed eighth.
The Josephs were selected to represent the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...
in Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
and initially finished fourth. A few years later, the silver medalists, Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius (; born 24 March 1943) is a German former pair skater. With Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion, and a six-time European champion. Earlier in her career, she competed with ...
/ Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (born 28 January 1942) is a German former pair skater, actor, and Schlager singer.
Career
Bäumler became famous in pair skating with his skating partner Marika Kilius. They won their first national title after skatin ...
of Germany, were disqualified after they were accused of signing a pro contract before the Olympics. The original bronze medalists, Debbi Wilkes / Guy Revell of Canada, were elevated to silver and the Joseph siblings to bronze. When the German pair was reinstated in 1987, the IOC decided the Germans and Canadians were both silver medalists and the Americans remained bronze medalists.[ The IOC officially updated the results in November 2014.][
Vivian and Ron won the national senior title in 1965. They then took gold at the 1965 North American Championships and silver at the 1965 World Championships before retiring from competition. They were coached by ]Peter Dunfield
Peter Dunfield (c. 1931 – May 25, 2014) was a Canadian Figure skating, figure skater and coach. He competed in four skating, winning the 1949 North American silver medal, and single skating. He is best known for coaching Elizabeth Manley to ...
.[
]
Results
(Pairs with Vivian Joseph)
See also
* List of select Jewish figure skaters
References
Jews in Sports bio
Navigation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Ronald
1944 births
Living people
Figure skaters from Chicago
American male pair skaters
Figure skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Jewish American sportspeople
Northwestern University alumni
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating
21st-century American Jews
People with motor neuron disease
20th-century American sportsmen