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Donald Hunter Gilchrist (January 2, 1922 – March 14, 2017) was a Canadian figure skater. As a pair skater with Marlene Smith, he became the 1949 North American silver medallist and a two-time Canadian national champion (1949–1950). He was a three-time national silver medallist in men's singles.
| Donald Gilchrist | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Donald Hunter Gilchrist | ||||||||||||||
| Born | January 2, 1922 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||
| Died | March 14, 2017 (aged 95) | ||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||
| Partner | Marlene Smith Eleanor O'Meara | ||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Toronto Skating Club | ||||||||||||||
| Began skating | February 1928 | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | c. 1950 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Gilchrist was born on January 2, 1922, in Toronto. He graduated from the University of Toronto (Trinity) in 1950 and married Christiane Legier in 1952; the couple had three children: Nancy Ann, Donald, and Jean.[1] He died at age 95 on March 14, 2017.[2]
Figure skating
Gilchrist began skating when he joined the Toronto Skating Club in February 1928.[1] Competing in men's singles, he won silver at three consecutive Canadian Championships, from 1940 to 1942.
After a partnership with Eleanor O'Meara, he teamed up with Marlene Smith. The pair won two national titles (1949–1950) and silver at the 1949 North American Championships.
Gilchrist began judging international skating competitions in 1951.[2] He judged at the 1952 Winter Olympics and at multiple World Championships (1952, 1959, 1964, 1967), and also served as a referee.[3]
He was a substitute member of the International Skating Union (ISU) Single & Pair Skating Technical Committee (from 1953), a main member of the technical committee (1969–1971, 1973–1980), an ISU Council member (1980–1992), and an ISU Honorary Member (from 1992).[3] He was inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1996.[4]
Other
Gilchrist served as a marksman and captain in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps during the 1940s.[1] He worked for Canada's Department of Defence Production in Washington (1952 to the 1960s), as director general of the Trade Commissioner Service (from 1966), as a vice-president of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, as consul general in Los Angeles (from 1974), and as minister-counsellor at the embassy in the Netherlands (1982–1986).[1]
Pairs with Smith
| International | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 1949 | 1950 |
| World Championships | 7th | |
| North American Championships | 2nd | |
| National[5] | ||
| Canadian Championships | 1st | 1st |
Pairs with O'Meara
| National[5] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 1940 |
| Canadian Championships | 3rd |
Men's singles
| National[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 1937 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 |
| Canadian Championships | 3rd J | 2nd J | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| J = Junior level | |||||
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