|retired= 1980 (amateur), 1997 (professional)
| show-medals = yes
|medaltemplates= <!-- see Template:MedalRelatedTemplates -->
Robin John Cousins (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 (1978–1980) and four-time British national champion (1977–1980), winning all of these titles during his amateur career. He followed this with a successful career as a professional figure skater and later starred in ice shows as well as producing several of his own. He is able to spin in either direction, both clockwise and anti-clockwise,
Cousins first stepped onto the ice at age six at Westover Road Ice Rink while on holiday in Bournemouth.
Cousins represented the United Kingdom as an amateur figure skater for eight years. He won the British National Senior Championships for four consecutive years (1977–1980); the free skating portion of the World Championships three times (1978–1980); and the silver medal at the World Championships in 1979 and 1980.
He reached the pinnacle of his amateur career by winning gold medals both in the European Championships and in the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980. Hoffmann skated a technically superior performance, but six out of nine judges gave first place to Cousins, giving him the overall win and the gold medal. Cousins never won a world title; figure skating historian James R. Hines states that it was due to his weakness in compulsory figures, although "his strength was always in free skating".
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to ice skating in the 1980 Birthday Honours. He hit both the longest Axel jump and the longest back flip on figure skates in the Guinness Book of World Records, reaching 5.81 metres (19 ft 1 in) and 5.48 metres (18 ft) on 16 November 1983.
In March 2016, Cousins joined the Art of the Olympians (AOTO) program. In May 2021, Cousins was elected as Vice Chair of the British Ice Skating board for a 4-year term and appointed as its President.
Personal life
Cousins has undergone a total of eight operations, including a knee replacement in his fifties.
On 10 March 2012, he appeared on the gameshow All Star Family Fortunes with four of his nephews. He also appeared on the gameshow Tipping Point Lucky Stars in August 2013.
Charity work
Cousins is a significant patron of the Meningitis UK organization and the Starr Trust children's charity in Brighton.
Programmes
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Season
! Short program
! Free skating
! Exhibition
|-
! 1979–1980
|
- The Railway Children<br><small>by Johnny Douglas</small>
|
- Belle de Jour
- Dragons At Midnight
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Paint It Black
|
- With You I'm Born Again
----
- Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
----
- Where Do I Go? from Hair
|-
! 1978–1979
|
- Swan Lake etc. <br><small>by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich</small>
|
- Classical exhibition
|-
! 1977–1978
| rowspan=2 |
- The Railway Children
|
- Lady Sings The Blues
- Yellow Submarine (movie instrumental)
- Silent Movie <br><small>by Michel Legrand, John Morris</small>
|
- Disco exhibition number
----
- The Flower Song from Carmen <br><small>by Georges Bizet</small>
|-
! 1976–1977
|
- Eldorado
- Kalinka
- Clair De Lune
- Hava Nagila<br><small>by Electric Light Orchestra, Claude Debussy</small>
|
|-
! 1975–1976
|
|
- Variation on Three Blind Mice by John Dankworth
|
|-
! 1974–1975
|
|
|
- Enter the Greeks
|-
! 1973–1974
|
|
|
- Malagueña <br><small>by Ernesto Lecuona</small>
|}
Results
Amateur career
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="9" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"| International
|-
! Event
! 1972–73
! 1973–74
! 1974–75
! 1975–76
! 1976–77
! 1977–78
! 1978–79
! 1979–80
|-
| align=left | Olympics || || || || 10th || || || || style="background:gold;"| 1st
|-
| align=left | Worlds || || || 12th || 9th || WD || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd
|-
| align=left | Europeans || 15th || 11th || 11th || 6th || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:gold;"| 1st
|-
| align=left | Skate Canada || || || || || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:gold;"| 1st || ||
|-
| align=left | NHK Trophy || || || || || || || || style="background:gold;"| 1st
|-
| align=left | St. Gervais || || || || || style="background:gold;"| 1st || || ||
|-
! colspan="9" style="background:#ffdead; text-align:center;"| National
|-
| align=left | British Champ. || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:gold;"| 1st || style="background:gold;"| 1st || style="background:gold;"| 1st || style="background:gold;"| 1st
|-
| colspan="9" style="text-align:center;"| <small> WD = Withdrew </small>
|}
Professional career
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Event/Season
! 1980
! 1981
! 1985
! 1986
! 1987
! 1988
! 1989
! 1990
! 1991
! 1992
! 1993
! 1994
! 1995
! 1997
|-
| align=left | World Professional Champ. || style="background:gold;"| 1st* || style="background:silver;"| 2nd* || style="background:gold;"| 1st || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:gold;"| 1st || 4th || || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Challenge of Champions || || || style="background:gold;"| 1st || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || || || || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || 4th || || style="background:silver;"| 2nd || || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd ||
|-
| align=left | World Cup of Skating || || || || || || || style="background:gold;"| 1st || || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | World Team Champ. || || || || || || || || || || || || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd* || ||
|-
| align=left | North American Open || || || || || || || || || || || || style="background:#c96;"| 3rd || ||
|-
| align=left | Canadian Pro Champ. || || || || || || || || || || || || 4th || ||
|-
| align=left | Legends Champ. || || || || || || || || || || || || || || style="background:silver;"| 2nd
|-
| colspan="15" style="text-align:center;"| <small> Asterisk indicates results from team competitions </small>
|}
References
External links
- Cousins Entertainment
- Robin Cousins skates to Julian Lloyd Webber's music Television appearance, YouTube
- "Sleeping Beauty, A Ballet on Ice," featuring Cousins. Program produced by WGBH, made available on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting by the University of Georgia Brown Media Archive