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 champion.

Ronald Ludington
Full nameRonald Edmund Ludington
Born(1934-09-04)September 4, 1934
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedMay 14, 2020(2020-05-14) (aged 85)
Newark, Delaware
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Skating clubCommonwealth Figure Skating Club
Retired1960
Medal record
Representing United States
Pairs' Figure skating
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Squaw Valley Pairs
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1959 Colorado SpringsPairs
North American Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1957 RochesterPairs

Career

With his then-wife, Nancy Rouillard Ludington, he won the U.S. Championships in 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 and 1960 Winter Olympics. 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.[1] His first pupils included Patricia and Robert Dineen, who were killed along with the rest of the U.S. team in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 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.[1] 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.[1]

Around 1970, due to limited ice time in Detroit, Ludington moved to Wilmington, Delaware to coach at the Skating Club of Wilmington.[2][3] In 1987, he became the director of the University of Delaware's Ice Skating Science Development Center.[4] He held that position until 2010.[3]

Ludington coached the following skaters:

Ludington was named to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1999, the Professional Skaters Association Coaches Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 2000.

Personal life

In 1957, Ludington married his skating partner, Nancy Rouillard.[8] He later married Mary Batdorf, a skating coach.[8] 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. [4] Ludington died on May 14, 2020, at the age of 85.[9]

Results

Pairs

(with Nancy Ludington)

Event 1957 1958 1959 1960
Winter Olympic Games3rd
World Championships4th5th3rd6th
North American Championships3rd
U.S. Championships1st1st1st1st

Ice dance

(with Lamar)

Event 1958
U.S. Championships1st J.

References
  1. Duffy, Bob (December 31, 2000). "Twists of fate". The Boston Globe.
  2. Eisenberg, John (February 21, 2006). "Delaware club churns out ice champions". Baltimore Sun.
  3. Tresolini, Kevin (February 2, 2014). "Shifting younger, but Delaware still helps breed top figure skating talent". The News Journal.
  4. "Ron Ludington named to World Figure Skating Hall of Fame". University of Delaware. May 20, 1999.
  5. Thomson, Candus (November 10, 2009). "Stars remember how Skate America began". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014.
  6. Hersh, Phil (February 14, 1988). "Whole Town Goes For The Gold". Chicago Tribune.
  7. Hersh, Phil (December 26, 1991). "Skater Figures Charity Begins At Home". Chicago Tribune.
  8. "Ron Ludington". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
  9. Frank, Martin (May 16, 2020). "Figure skating icon Ron Ludington, who won Olympic bronze and coached dozens of Olympians in Delaware, dies". Delaware News Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
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