This is where we discuss figure skating and skating related items. How did you favourite skaters perform, and so on? However we never speculate on the private lives of skaters, like who might be going out with whom, because that is poison and is not tolerated here. A good guideline is that if it's not publicly announced, in the papers etc. then it's probably best to leave it alone. Is it a gray area? Then write to me and ask.
Skate Canada is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Robert (Bob) Paul. Paul was an acclaimed pairs skater whose many accomplishments catapulted Canadian figure skating to historic heights. He died peacefully on December 19, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Joining as a team in 1952, Paul and his partner Barbara Wagner were an unstoppable force in pairs figure skating. The duo started skating together when Paul was only 13 and quickly proved to be a perfect match. They were Canadian champions for five consecutive years, North American champions for three, and World champions for four. Paul and Wagner capped off their remarkable career at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, where they served as Canada’s flagbearers for the opening ceremony and became the first North American pair to win an Olympic gold medal.
Retiring from amateur competition in 1960, Paul went on to become a celebrated skating coach and choreographer. He guided the performances of many notable athletes, including Olympic gold medalists, and later served as the director of choreography for skating productions at the Walt Disney Corporation.
An icon of the sport, Paul’s achievements have left an enduring impact on figure skating in Canada, and around the world. Paul’s remarkable career was memorialized in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1957, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1958, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1980, and in the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1993.
Skate Canada offers its sincere sympathies to Bob’s family and friends.
As stated today by SkateGuard (Ryan Stevens):
In addition to being World, North American and Canadian Champions, they starred in "Planet Ice", the very first full-length television skating special in Canada. Bob was inducted to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1957), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1958), World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1980) and Skate Canada Hall of Fame (1993).
I'm sorry to hear this! My deepest condolences to his family and friends, which include Barbara Wagner.
"At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis)
