Elvis Stojko

His father arrived in Canada on a boat in 1955 and his mother, Irene (Irén), fled the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.

Stojko grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

There is a hockey arena named after him in Richmond Hill.

Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater.

At the 1991 World Championships, Stojko became the first person to land a quadruple-double jump combination.

He later said he had studied VHS tapes of Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano, Alexander Fadeyev, and Jozef Sabovčík to help him master the quad.

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he finished 7th despite skating a technically strong routine, but a month later he made his first appearance on a major international podium when he placed third at the 1992 World Championships behind winner Viktor Petrenko and Kurt Browning.

In 1993 at the World Figure Skating Championships he finished second, once again behind Kurt Browning.

For Stojko's free skating program this season, he used music from the soundtrack of Dragon, the 1993 film biography about Bruce Lee.

He was able to demonstrate his interest in karate and tai chi by incorporating movements from his extensive study of the disciplines into the program.

He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).

Stojko was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada to a Hungarian mother and Slovenian father and was named after Elvis Presley, of whom his parents were fans.

At the 1994 Canadian Championships in Edmonton, Stojko defeated Kurt Browning in the free skate to win his first national title.

At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, he skated well enough in the short program to place second, putting him in good position heading into the free skate, after three of the pre-Olympic favourites (Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko & Kurt Browning) had disappointing short programs.

Stojko had a strong performance in the free skate, despite popping a planned triple axel combination (which he later replaced by doing another triple Axel combination spontaneously) and won the silver medal.

Stojko entered the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan, as the favourite and won his first world championship with a performance that included another quadruple jump.

Stojko sustained a serious ankle injury during practice for the 1995 Canadian Championships, but was determined to compete anyway.

He began his short program but was not able to complete it due to the injury, and was awarded a bye to the 1995 World Championships.

His 1995 World Championship skate is regarded as one of his most impressive competitive outings because he completed his full routine despite his still-unhealed injury.

Although in second place after the short programme behind American Todd Eldredge, Stojko won the free skate – and his second world championship – with a performance that included a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination in the closing seconds of his programme.

At the 1996 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Stojko fell on his triple axel combo jump, leaving him in seventh place after the short programme.

In the free programme he included a quadruple jump combination (the only one in the competition) and moved him all the way up to fourth, just off the podium behind American Rudy Galindo, who won the bronze.

His quadruple toe loop–triple toe loop was the first ever performed by a skater in a major competition.

Stojko won the 1996–97 Champions Series Final (Grand Prix Final) in Hamilton, Ontario, skating to the movie soundtrack of "Dragon Heart".

Two other skaters also landed quad jumps during the free skate (Ilia Kulik and Alexei Urmanov), but not in combination as Stojko did.

At the 1997 World Championships, he again had a strong short programme and placed fourth going into the free.

Approximately halfway through the free skate, Alexei Urmanov, leader after the short programme, withdrew from the event with an injury, while Ilia Kulik, in third, had a performance that put him out of contention.

Stojko then took the ice and landed his quad-triple combination to earn two perfect scores of 6.0 and another world title.

Stojko entered the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan as the heavy favorite and was expected to become the first Canadian man to win an Olympic gold medal.

He did not disclose to the media that he had suffered a groin injury and was also recovering from a flu that had struck many other athletes during the Games.

He was unable to take painkillers due to the possibility of failing his drug test.

He later stated in an interview that he was already feeling stiff and sore during the warm-up prior to the long program, and therefore downgraded his planned quadruple toe loop to a triple, likely costing him a chance at gold.

He settled in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico in 2001.

Stojko competed in the 2005 WKA Canadian Championships and placed first in the Chinese martial arts division.

He has been involved with Ronald McDonald Children's Charities in Canada.

On June 20, 2010, he married Mexican figure skater Gladys Orozco in Las Vegas.

They resided in Ajijic until June 2014, when they relocated to Toronto.

They now live on 140 acres near Bowmanville.

On October 3, 2021, Stojko was revealed to have been named in the Pandora Papers by the CBC.

Stojko began skating at the age of four and won his first trophy when he was eleven.