Grzegorz Filipowski 1980 World Figure Skating Championships LP

It was the late and much missed skating journalist Sandra Stevenson who first brought me to the attention of this historic feat in her 1983 BBC book of Skating. She mentioned that much was made in the press about the low marks Filipowski received and such was the furore that he was eventually awarded the unluckiest skater award at the championship banquet.

But there's nothing unlucky about this performance. Although the video doesn't start at the very beginning, we join just in time to see Grzegorz make history by landing the first ever triple-triple combination in a world championship by any skater, aged just 13. He would go on to enjoy a very long amateur career; finally retiring from competition after the 1992 season and winning European bronze and silver and world bronze along the way.



The crowd loved him; infact I think the marks are pretty great considering his age and stature, although the American judge disagreed and the home broadcaster decided to camera shame her right at the end!



One lovely bit of trivia; Grzegorz was the youngest competitor in the men's event at the age of 13. In the ladies, a little 12 year old by the name of Tracey Wainman was making a huge media splash all her own. Forty years later, they are a couple, work at the same rink and coach the 2020 Canadian Champion, the wonderful Roman Sadovsky.