John Misha Petkevich is an American former 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 1971 United States Figure Skating 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...

 in men's singles and the North American Figure Skating Championship

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...

 in the same year. He placed 6th at the 1968 Winter Olympics

1968 Winter Olympics

The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...

 and 5th at the 1972 Winter Olympics

1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...

. His best finish at the World Figure Skating 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...

 was 4th in 1972; he placed 5th in 1969, 1970, and 1971.

Petkevich was coached by Arthur Bourke and Gustave Lussi

Gustave Lussi

Gustave François Lussi was a figure skating coach. His students include many champions, such as Dick Button, Donald Jackson, Ronald Robertson, Ronald Ludington, Barbara Ann Scott, David Jenkins, Hayes Jenkins, Dorothy Hamill , John Misha Petkevich, and John Curry.-Biography:Lussi was born in...

. He was known as a particularly dynamic free skater for his time. His emphasis on freer musical expression and less rigid body lines set him apart from most other men's singles competitors of his era. He has also been credited with innovating fashion for male competitors by wearing a more athletic costume of a jumpsuit and turtleneck sweater rather than the more formal suit-and-tie outfit that was otherwise universal in the 1960s. By the early 1970s, many other skaters had emulated Petkevich's costume style.

In 1970, while a student at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, Petkevich founded An Evening with Champions

An Evening with Champions

An Evening with Champions is an annual benefit figure skating show hosted by Eliot House of Harvard University. The event is a two-day skating show in October, which regularly attracts world-class skaters, thousands of spectators, hundreds of Harvard students, special guests, donors, and of course...

, a long-running annual ice show that raises money to benefit the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana–Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.-Overview:...

.

Petkevich was the recipient of an unusual trophy. At the 1947 World Figure Skating 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...

, Ulrich Salchow

Ulrich Salchow

Karl Emil Julius Ulrich Salchow was a Swedish figure skater, who dominated the sport in the first decade of the 20th century....

 was particularly impressed by Dick Button

Dick Button

Richard Totten "Dick" Button is an American former figure skater and a well-known long-time skating television analyst. He is a two-time Olympic Champion and five-time World Champion...

's skating, and gave him one of his own trophies. Following the 1972 Olympics, Button passed on Salchow's trophy to Petkevich, who has stated that he also intends to keep up the tradition by presenting it to another young skater someday.

Following his competitive career, Petkevich attended University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 as a Rhodes scholar, earning a Ph.D. in cell biology. Later he pursued a career in investment banking.

Petkevich is the author of Figure Skating: Championship Techniques (ISBN 0-452-26209-7), one of the standard reference works on figure skating technique. He has also served as a figure skating analyst for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, and ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

.

Results

Event	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972
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...				6th				5th
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...					5th	5th	5th	4th
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...					3rd		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...	5th J.		4th	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd