Terry Kubicka American figure skater Date of Birth: 03.04.1956 Country: USA

1. Biography of Terry Kubicka
2. Early Life and Career
3. Championship Success and Innovations
4. Later Life

Biography of Terry Kubicka

Terry Kubicka is an American figure skater who became the champion of the United States in 1976. He is known for being the only skater to legally perform a back flip in competition. Although his family has Czech origins, his surname is spelled as Kubicka in Soviet sources, but Americans refer to him as Kubica in accordance with English language norms.

Early Life and Career

Terry Kubicka's family moved to Cypress, California, where they decided to enroll him in figure skating after watching the Ice Follies show. In 1967, he began training with Evy Scotvold and represented the Arctic Blades FSC club. He won the Novice category at the U.S. Championships in 1971 and the Junior category in 1972, where he attempted to perform the triple Salchow and triple toe loop. Kubicka's success led him to join the national team after finishing second at the 1974 U.S. Championships, where he became the first American male skater to land a triple Lutz.

Championship Success and Innovations

Kubicka faced a mishap at the 1974 World Championships when his boot came unlaced during the free skate. He stopped his program and continued from the interrupted point at the referee's instruction. At the 1975 World Championships, he improved his ranking in the short program with a sensational performance that included four clean triple jumps, including a triple flip, becoming the first skater in history to perform a back flip in competition.

In 1976, Kubicka wowed the judges and audience at the U.S. Championships with his free skate, where he became the first skater to perform five triple jumps, including a unique combination of triple flip-triple toe loop-double Axel. Despite receiving high scores from the judges, one judge gave him a lower score, leading to a confrontation between the referee and the judge in front of the outraged spectators.

Kubicka's impressive performance continued at the 1976 Olympic Games, where he landed four triple jumps and secured a third-place finish in the free skate. He repeated his difficult jump sequence at the 1976 World Championships, but received penalties for finishing his routine two seconds earlier than the required five minutes. Despite the penalties, his performances consistently received standing ovations and earned him a place in figure skating history for his athletic abilities.

Later Life

After retiring from competitive skating, Terry Kubicka dedicated himself to veterinary medicine and his family. He married in September 1982 and has three children. The International Skating Union officially banned the execution of back flips due to safety concerns, and in 2005, Kubicka returned to figure skating as a technical controller for the ISU.