Robin Cousins - Skating Career

Skating Career

From a sporting family (his father was a goalkeeper for Millwall) of Bristol, England, Robin Cousins took to figure skating very early after skating for the first time at Westover Road Ice Rink in Bournemouth. He won his first national title in 1969 at the age of twelve on the novice level. By age fourteen, he was Britain's junior champion, and he made his international debut that same year.

As a young skater, Cousins also did ice dancing at the same time as singles, his first coach being a dancer. He was later coached by Carlo Fassi. Cousins is able to spin in both directions.

Cousins represented the United Kingdom as an amateur skater for eight years, winning the National Senior Championships for four consecutive years. He had a left knee injury at the 1977 World Championships. By 1980, he had undergone major surgery on both his left and right knees.

Cousins won the free skating portion of the World Championships three times, 1978 through 1980. He won silver medals at the World Championships in 1979 and 1980. He reached the pinnacle of his amateur ice skating career by winning the European Championships gold medal, and also winning the Winter Olympic Games gold medal in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.

Cousins followed this with a highly successful career as a professional ice skater. He starred in such skating shows as Holiday on Ice and Ice Capades, and he was a regular in the World Professional Championships. In 1983, Cousins formed his own ice skating performance company, and it toured the world with the programs Electric Ice and Ice Majesty. He has also worked with the British synchronized swimming team.