Born in Bournemouth, Sharp began training as a skater at the age of 13 at a rink owned by his father in Bournemouth.[1] At the age of 15 he competed for the first time in the British Figure Skating Championships (BFSC), winning silver in 1933.[1] He competed in the BFSC eight more times, winning gold each time in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1946, and 1948. On the international stage he won consecutive silver medals at the World Championships and the European Championships from 1936 through 1938, and took home gold in both events in 1939.[1] Writing in 1938, T. D. Richardson (author of Modern Figure Skating and Ice Rink Skating) said "Graham Sharp is by far the best male School Skater of the day. He has an ease and accuracy that is a joy to those with real knowledge and appreciation of the fine points of the School Figures." It was predicted that he would have won gold in the winter Olympic Games in 1940, but the events of World War II prevented those games from occurring and otherwise significantly interrupted his career when he was at his peak as an athlete.[1]
Sharp was a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps during WWII. He was at the Battle of France and was part of the Dunkirk evacuation in May and June 1940.[1] He was later part of military campaigns in North Africa and Italy during the war.[1] After the war, he continued his skating career, and while he won gold at the BFSC twice, he did not medal at the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships in 1948.[1] He carried the British flag in the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.[1]
Sharp's father died in 1948, and he took over the management of the family's Bournemouth skating rink where he also taught lessons through 1964.[1] He then relocated to the United States where he worked as a teacher.[1] He died on 2 January 1995 at the age of 77.[1]
^ abcdefghijklYates, Geoffrey (20 January 1995). "Obituary: Graham Sharp, Cool stylist of a golden era". The Guardian. p. A21.
April 12, 2024
graham, sharp, footballer, graeme, sharp, henry, december, 1917, january, 1995, british, figure, skater, 1939, both, european, figure, skating, championships, world, figure, skating, championships, before, that, three, consecutive, silver, medals, worlds, euro. For the footballer see Graeme Sharp Henry Graham Sharp 1 19 December 1917 2 January 1995 was a British figure skater In 1939 he won both the European Figure Skating Championships and the World Figure Skating Championships Before that he had won three consecutive silver medals at Worlds and Europeans He competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics where he placed fifth and at the 1948 Winter Olympics where he placed seventh Graham SharpSharp performing an inside edge spread eagle at the 1938 European ChampionshipsBornHenry Graham Sharp 1917 12 19 19 December 1917Bournemouth EnglandDied2 January 1995 1995 01 02 aged 77 Figure skating careerCountry United KingdomMedal record Representing United KingdomMen s Figure skatingWorld Championships1939 Budapest Men s singles1936 Paris Men s singles1937 London Men s singles1938 Berlin Men s singlesEuropean Championships1939 London Men s singles1936 Berlin Men s singles1937 Prague Men s singles1938 St Moritz Men s singles Contents 1 Life and career 2 Results 3 Further reading 4 ReferencesLife and career editBorn in Bournemouth Sharp began training as a skater at the age of 13 at a rink owned by his father in Bournemouth 1 At the age of 15 he competed for the first time in the British Figure Skating Championships BFSC winning silver in 1933 1 He competed in the BFSC eight more times winning gold each time in 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 and 1948 On the international stage he won consecutive silver medals at the World Championships and the European Championships from 1936 through 1938 and took home gold in both events in 1939 1 Writing in 1938 T D Richardson author of Modern Figure Skating and Ice Rink Skating said Graham Sharp is by far the best male School Skater of the day He has an ease and accuracy that is a joy to those with real knowledge and appreciation of the fine points of the School Figures It was predicted that he would have won gold in the winter Olympic Games in 1940 but the events of World War II prevented those games from occurring and otherwise significantly interrupted his career when he was at his peak as an athlete 1 Sharp was a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps during WWII He was at the Battle of France and was part of the Dunkirk evacuation in May and June 1940 1 He was later part of military campaigns in North Africa and Italy during the war 1 After the war he continued his skating career and while he won gold at the BFSC twice he did not medal at the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships in 1948 1 He carried the British flag in the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics 1 Sharp s father died in 1948 and he took over the management of the family s Bournemouth skating rink where he also taught lessons through 1964 1 He then relocated to the United States where he worked as a teacher 1 He died on 2 January 1995 at the age of 77 1 Results editEvent 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1948Winter Olympic Games 5th 7thWorld Championships 6th 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 6thEuropean Championships 2nd 2nd 2nd 1stBritish Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1stFurther reading editE R Hall amp T D Richardson Champions all camera studies by E R Hall Frederick Muller 1938 T D Richardson Modern Figure Skating Methuen 1938 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l Yates Geoffrey 20 January 1995 Obituary Graham Sharp Cool stylist of a golden era The Guardian p A21 1936 Olympics Results 1948 Olympics Results Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Graham Sharp amp oldid 1210689882, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
