David Wilkinson Jenkins (born June 29, 1936) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, and a four-time U.S. national champion.

Personal life

Jenkins was born on June 29, 1936, in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

. He is the younger brother of Hayes Alan Jenkins, also an American former figure skater. He studied at

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Western Reserve School of Medicine (CWRU SOM, CaseMed) is the medical school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest biomedical research center in Ohio. History On November ...

during his competitive career. He took a leave of absence during his time with Ice Follies. After graduating in 1963, he became a practicing physician. Jenkins graduated with an M.D. in 1963 and immediately after served two years in the U.S. Air Force. In June of 1965 he married Barbara Ruth Boling and settled in Tulsa, where he became a gastroenterologist. Neither his wife nor his three children skate.

Skating career

Jenkins won his first senior national medal, silver, at the 1954 U.S. Championships. His first world medal, bronze, came at the 1955 World Championships. He received the bronze medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics while his brother won the gold. The brothers received financial support from the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a foundation. In 1957, David Jenkins became the U.S. national champion and won the first of his three consecutive world titles. He performed a triple

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in a 1957 exhibition, 21 years before that jump was landed for the first time in competition. After taking his fourth consecutive national title, he won the gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics. Edi Scholdan served as his coach. Following the 1960 Olympics, Jenkins declined to compete at the 1960 World Figure Skating Championships and turned professional, joining the

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

Competitive highlights

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, David American male single skaters Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine alumni Figure skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Akron, Ohio Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating Olympic gold medalists for the United States in figure skating 1936 births Living people World Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics