Jacques Gerschwiler

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Infobox figure skater Jacques Gerschwiler (10 September 1898 – 4 May 2000) was a Swiss figure skater and coach.

Personal life

Born in Arbon, Switzerland in 1898, he was the half-brother of Arnold Gerschwiler and the uncle of Hans Gerschwiler.<ref name="ind030906" /> His nickname was "Gersch".<ref name=":1" /> He died in 2000 at the age of 101.<ref name="ind030906" /> A few years before his death, his friends learned that he also had a sister who was still alive at the time he died, though he was estranged from her.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Gerschwiler went to Berlin to study to become a sports coach, where he became familiar with skating and began to develop his own ideas about skating technique.<ref name="ind030906" /> As a skater, he competed and medaled at the British Open Professional Championships in 1933 and 1934. However, he was primarily known for being a coach, especially of compulsory figures.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1929, he moved to England and taught there until the 1960s.<ref name="ind030906" /> Arnold soon moved to England as well and also began coaching; the two of them had a friendly coaching rivalry, with Jacques Gerschwiler focusing more on British skaters and his brother focusing more on skaters from other parts of Europe. Among Gerschwiler's students were World and European champions Cecilia Colledge and Jeannette Altwegg, European silver medalist Sally Stapleford, Olympian Bridget Adams, European bronze medalist Barbara Wyatt, British champion Jacqueline Harbord,<ref name="ind030906" /> and European bronze medalist Karin Iten.<ref name=":3" />

British skater T. D. Richardson credited both brothers for having a considerable influence on figure skating in general, and Jacques specifically for improving the accuracy and performance of compulsory figures and turns.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>

Gerschilwer moved back to Switzerland and lived in a hotel in Geneva.<ref name=":2" /> In 1977, he and Otto Hügin published a book, which was released in German as Template:Langx and in English as The Technique of Skating.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He was elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976 as part of the inaugural class.<ref name=":0" /> He and his brother were both inducted into the Professional Skaters Association's Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.<ref name="PSA" />