Obituary: John Nicks (1929–2026)

John Nicks sadly passed away on 3rd November 2026 at the age of 97. John, who was a legendary pairs skater alongside his sister Jennifer, made a major impact on the world of figure skating, both as a competitor and a coach.

John Allen Wisden Nicks was born on 22 April 1929 and grew up in Brighton. His father sold sporting goods but knew little about skating. However, he recognised the opportunity to sell more equipment and introduced his two children to the sport to learn more about it. Both John and Jennifer took to the sport and initially competed as individual skaters.

John won the British Junior title in 1947 but was strongly encouraged to take his pairs partnership with his sister forward. That partnership had begun in 1946 with a third-place finish at the British Senior Championships, and from that point onwards they won six consecutive British Senior pairs titles, covering the period 1947/48 to 1952/53.

From 1950 to 1953, John and Jennifer finished on the podium every year at both the European and World Championships, just missing out at the 1952 Olympic Winter Games, where they finished fourth. The culmination of their amateur career came in 1953, when they were crowned European and World pairs champions.

John turned professional after his World Championship victory and moved to South Africa, where he skated professionally and began his coaching career. In 1959 he married Denise Nichols, and together they had two children, a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Carolyn.

John returned to the UK in 1960 and, following a spell coaching in Canada, eventually settled in the United States. Following his separation from his first wife, John later married former ice dancer Yvonne Littlefield.

Settling in California, John coached many world-famous skaters, including Peggy Fleming, Sasha Cohen and Ashley Wagner as singles skaters, and pairs such as Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, and Kristi Yamaguchi and Rudy Galindo. His influence was huge, and his skaters won 29 national championships.

John was always referred to as "Mr Nicks" by his skaters, and the mutual respect between him and them was the bedrock on which he built an amazing coaching career and legacy. A mark of the high esteem in which John was held is that the international pairs event established in the US in 2021 is named the John Nicks Pairs Challenge.

John Nicks Career History

John Nicks

• British Junior Men's Champion 1947 (runner-up 1946)

  
  

John and Jennifer Nicks, pairs

• World Champions 1953

• European Champions 1953

• British Champions 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, March 1952, December 1952

• British Southern Counties Champions 1952

  
  

Other placings

• 1946: British 3rd

• 1947: European 6th

• 1948: European 5th, Olympic Winter Games 8th, World 8th

• 1949: European 6th, World 6th

• 1950: European 3rd, World 2nd

• 1951: European 3rd, World 3rd

• 1952: European 2nd, Olympic Winter Games 4th, World 3rd