Elvis Stojko facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elvis Stojko
Stojko at Canada House during the 2002 Winter Olympics
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1972-03-22) March 22, 1972 (age 53) Newmarket, Ontario
Height	1.70 m
Former coach	Uschi Keszler, Doug Leigh, Ghislain Briand
Skating club	Richmond Hill FSC
Retired	2006
Medal record Figure skating: Men's singles Representing  Canada Olympic Games Silver 1994 Lillehammer Singles Silver 1998 Nagano Singles World Championships Gold 1994 Chiba Singles Gold 1995 Birmingham Singles Gold 1997 Lausanne Singles Silver 1993 Prague Singles Silver 2000 Nice Singles Bronze 1992 Oakland Singles Four Continents Championships Gold 2000 Osaka Singles Bronze 1999 Halifax Singles Grand Prix Final Gold 1996–97 Hamilton Singles Silver 1995–96 Paris Singles Silver 1997–98 Munich Singles Silver 1999–2000 Lyon Singles

Elvis Stojko, MSC MSM (born March 22, 1972) is a famous Canadian figure skater. He is known for his powerful jumps and exciting performances. Elvis won many big competitions, including three World Championships (1994, 1995, 1997). He also earned two silver medals at the Olympic Games (1994, 1998). Stojko was a seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).

About Elvis Stojko

Elvis Stojko was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, on March 22, 1972. His parents were big fans of the singer Elvis Presley, so they named him after him! His mother came from Hungary, and his father was from Slovenia. Elvis grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There is even a hockey arena named after him there.

Elvis is also interested in Chinese martial arts. In 2005, he competed in a martial arts championship in Canada and won first place in his division. He has also helped with Ronald McDonald Children's Charities in Canada. In 2010, he married Mexican figure skater Gladys Orozco. They now live near Bowmanville, Ontario.

Elvis's Skating Journey

Elvis Stojko started skating when he was only four years old. He won his very first trophy at age eleven. He quickly became known for his amazing jumps.

Early Career and Big Jumps

At the World Championships in 1991, Elvis made history. He was the first person ever to land a quadruple-double jump combination. This means he did a jump with four rotations, then immediately followed it with another jump with two rotations. He studied videos of other great skaters to learn how to do the difficult quad jump.

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he finished 7th. Soon after, he won his first major international medal, a bronze, at the 1992 World Championships. In 1993, he won a silver medal at the World Championships.

Olympic Silver and First World Title

In 1994, Elvis won his first Canadian championship. Then, at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, he skated wonderfully. He earned the silver medal, showing his strong skills. Later that year, at the World Championships in Japan, Elvis became a world champion for the first time. His performance included another amazing quadruple jump.

For his skating program that season, Elvis used music from the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. He was able to show off his interest in karate and tai chi by adding movements from these martial arts into his routine.

Winning More World Titles

In 1995, Elvis faced a challenge. He hurt his ankle before the Canadian Championships. Even though he was injured, he still competed at the World Championships. His performance was incredibly impressive because he completed his whole routine despite the injury. He won his second world championship with a strong skate that included a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination.

At the 1996 World Championships, Elvis landed a quadruple jump combination. This was the only one in the competition! It was the first time a skater had ever done a quadruple toe loop–triple toe loop in a major competition.

In 1997, Elvis won the 1996–97 Champions Series Final (now called the Grand Prix Final). He also won his third world title at the 1997 World Championships. He landed his quad-triple combination again and earned two perfect scores of 6.0!

Nagano Olympics and Later Career

Elvis was a favorite to win gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. However, he had a groin injury and was also recovering from the flu. He couldn't take painkillers because of drug testing rules. Despite the pain, he still skated bravely and won another Olympic silver medal. He completed many difficult jumps even with his injury.

After the 1998–99 season, Elvis changed coaches. He continued to compete and won a silver medal at the 2000 World Championships. He placed eighth at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. After this, he decided to become a professional skater.

Life After Competitive Skating

Since 2002, Elvis Stojko has stayed busy. He has worked as a commentator for TV, sharing his knowledge of figure skating. In 2006, he was a judge on a TV show called Skating's Next Star.

Elvis briefly thought about returning to competitive skating for the 2006 Olympics. However, he decided to continue his professional skating career instead. In 2006, he had a special farewell performance at the Mariposa skating club, where he trained for many years.

He has also provided commentary for Yahoo! Sports during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Elvis has even written articles about figure skating, discussing how the judging system works.

Besides skating, Elvis has found a new passion: kart racing! Since 2011, he has been racing karts in different competitions in Canada and Mexico.

Elvis also continues to perform in ice shows. He has been a part of the Canadian tour of Stars on Ice since 2016. He also performs at events like the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto and Busch Gardens' Christmas Town. In 2016, he acted in a TV movie called Ice Girls.

Stojko performing in the gala at the 2024 World Championships

Amazing Accomplishments

Elvis Stojko has achieved many great things in his career:

• Three-time World Figure Skating Champion: 1994, 1995, 1997
• Two-time Olympic Silver Medallist: 1994, 1998
• Seven-time Canadian Figure Skating Champion: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
• Four Continents Champion: 2000
• Grand Prix Final Champion: 1996/1997
• Winner of the Lionel Conacher Award: 1994 (This award goes to Canada's top male athlete)
• First man to land a quadruple jump in combination (quadruple toe-loop, double toe-loop) at the 1991 World Championships.
• First man to land a quadruple/triple jump combination (quadruple toe-loop, triple toe-loop) at the ISU Champions Series Final.
• Inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
• Inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2011.

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in figure skating