David Wilkinson Jenkins (born June 29, 1936 in Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

), is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 figure skater

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

. He won the men's gold medal for figure skating during the 1960 Winter Olympics

1960 Winter Olympics

The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...

 in Squaw Valley. David Jenkins had led the world in men's skating for four years, following the four-year lead of his older brother, figure skater Hayes Alan Jenkins

Hayes Alan Jenkins

Hayes Alan Jenkins , an American figure skater, led men's skating for 4 years, 1953-56. He won four consecutive World Figure Skating Championships from 1953 to 1956. He also won the gold medal in the 1956 Winter Olympics, after placing 4th in the 1952 Winter Olympics. His brother David Jenkins...

.

Jenkins was known as an especially strong jumper for his time. There exists video of him performing a triple axel jump

Axel jump

The Axel is a figure skating jump with a forward take-off. It is named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882. An Axel jump has an extra ½ rotation in the air due to its forward take-off...

 in a 1957 exhibition, 21 years before that jump was landed for the first time in competition.

Following the 1960 Olympics, Jenkins declined to compete at the 1960 World Figure Skating Championships

1960 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....

. Instead, he turned professional, taking a leave of absence from his studies at Case Western Reserve Medical School to appear in Ice Follies

Ice Follies

Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies was a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1937 by Eddie Shipstad, Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson, who also skated in the show. In later years, Olympic skaters such as Donald Jackson, Barbara...

.

Competitive highlights

Event	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960
Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...			3rd				1st
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...	4th	3rd	3rd	1st	1st	1st
North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an...		2nd		1st
U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st