Bradley Lord - Freeskate 1961 US National Champioships

This is Bradley Lord's gold-medal-winning freeskate from the 1961 US National figure skating championships. A month later, the plane carrying the US team to Worlds crashed, killing everyone on board.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• bradley
• lord
• 1961
• figure
• skating
• championships
• plane
• crash

[dvdneely]

What a great skater Bradley was! Though I love modern skating, I've been watching many of these older "pre triple jump" videos because I think the skating of the past paid so much attention to beauty and choreography.  Young skaters should watch this!

[MissFit29]

I love Dick Button - I hope he never retires!

Some of the choreography in this program is great - the spread eagle and the reverse pivot especially!

[jfluter]

@Noorah101I'm an adult beginning skater myself (started classes back in January), and in many ways, I think this program is very difficult because of the importance of having the clean edges. I also agree that you can see the different elements on here much more clearly. I think that many skaters today should take time to watch these older videos to really see how important it is to have strong basic skill--particularly edges--as they are so essential to skating.

[faeryquene]

Tremendous height on that opening delayed axel-the whole audience 'ooohhed' in awe at the same time! :)

[faeryquene]

@mrshinyshoes Blame it on David Bowie and Glam Rock lol!

[k9henrydog]

What an impressive performance! An artist at work! Love the edging and knee action.....unusual to have a 5 minute free program that was interesting throughout. The Janet Lynn music in the middle was a surprise!! The development of men's skating lost a step with this loss.....best wishes

[dwj20101]

I've been watching these 1961 videos in awe. So wonderful to see this glorious pure skating. Many of these wonderful moves are lost to modern skaters - especially love the reverse pivot at 3:47. and I will take that fabulous big open axel over a triple any day. RIP Bradley Lord.

[VTMCompany]

did you catch the SABENA ad on the boards? that's what killed him and the entire team on 2/15/61.

[faeryquene]

Bradley was clearly a great athlete and I think would surely have medalled at the '64 Olympics had he lived. Skating seemed so much more elegant, and refined in those days. I'm so glad they interviewed Bradley (and most of the eventual winners in each discipline). It is as close as most of us will ever get to knowing these star-crossed skaters. God rest your sweet soul Bradley. :(

[Noorah101]

Wow, I've never watched these older clips before. I'm an adult skater, about 8 months into it, and these clips are very helpful because it seems the movements are more clear than in today's skating.  Today's skating is exciting for sure, and much more difficult, but these "easier" moves are helpful to watch.

[mrshinyshoes]

Yes, then came the 1970s, and guys started wearing feathers, frills, and glitter. Sigh! Lol. They have toned it down a bit since the 70s.

[teaeyedoubleguhur]

I've been thinking the same thing. The costumes are elegant and sophisticated rather like Fred Astaire's tails.