Doug Mattis (April 26, 1966 – February 9, 2023) was an American

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. He was the 1985 Grand Prix International St. Gervais champion, 1985

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. The competitio ...

silver medalist, 1986 Novarat Trophy silver medalist, and 1985 U.S. national junior champion.

Life and career

Mattis was born on April 26, 1966, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won the junior men's title at the 1985 U.S. Championships. From 1986 to 1991, Mattis competed in the senior men's division at the U.S. Championships. He won three international medals — gold at the 1985 Grand Prix International St. Gervais in France, silver at the 1985

in Germany, and silver at the 1986 Novarat Trophy in Hungary. He never included the triple Axel in competition, having a low success rate in practice, but did perform a one-footed back flip. In the later years of his Olympic-eligible career, he was coached by

Robin Cousins Robin Cousins, MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978–19 ...

and Frank Carroll. He received financial support from the Foundation for International Ice Skating Advancement. In the 1990–91 season, he also trained 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 a ...

; his partner was Liberte Sheldon and was coached by

Irina Rodnina Irina Konstantinovna Rodnina ( rus, Ирина Константиновна Роднина, p=ɪˈrʲinə kənstɐnˈtʲinəvnə rədʲnʲɪˈna; born 12 September 1949) is a Russian politician and retired figure skating, figure skater, who is ...

. During his short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991, Mattis protested what he thought was underscoring from the judges by executing a backflip, an illegal movement in national and international competitions. Mattis retired from amateur competition at the 1991 U.S. Championships, where he finished 13th. He then competed in professional events, including the U.S. Open Championships and World Professional Championships in Jaca, Spain. Mattis unsuccessfully tried to return to amateur skating after

Rudy Galindo Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969) is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion, 1987 World Junior Champion, and 199 ...

won the U.S Nationals title in 1996, citing Galindo as an inspiration that openly gay skaters could win competitions.Kestnbaum, p. 212 He worked as a choreographer and coach. He supported the Young Artists Showcase at the American Ice Theater. His programs included ''Hypnotized'', ''Imitation'', ''Nightmare/It's No Good'', and ''Can't Cry Hard Enough''. As a writer, he published poems, essays and short stories and worked for Disney and Universal Studios. Mattis was openly gay and performed an exhibition at the

1994 Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

in New York. He died on February 9, 2023, at the age of 56 in New York City. His life partner was clarinetist, Neil Rynston.

Competitive highlights

Professional career

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattis, Doug 2023 deaths American male single skaters American LGBT rights activists LGBT figure skaters American LGBT sportspeople 1966 births