Robert Norris Bowden (August 13, 1926 – April 9, 1991) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 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...

.

Born in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Bowden won championships in every division of Canadian figure skating. He was national men's champion as a junior and senior (1947), national pairs (junior and senior), dance (1952), waltz, and 10-step champion with Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe, was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics.In 1991, she was made a Member of the Order of...

, and national fours champion.

Bowden and Dafoe captured four Canadian titles

Canadian Figure Skating Championships

The Canadian Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Canada. It is organized by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. The levels of the competition are senior and junior; in some years, the novice level has...

 (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955) and two 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...

 (1954, 1955). They won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics

1956 Winter Olympics

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

 in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Norris and his partner were the first pair skaters to do the twist lift, throw jump, ‘leap of faith’ and overhead lasso. It was because of these two that some of the rules in pairs skating were changed.

Outside of skating, Bowden graduated with an MBA and worked in the life insurance industry. He was founding president of the Centennial Nursery School for Retarded Children (now the Centennial Infant and Child Centre) in Toronto.

He has been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...

 (1955), the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1958), and the Skate Canada Hall of Fame (1993).

Results

men's singles

Event	1943	1944	1946	1947
Canadian Championships Canadian Figure Skating Championships The Canadian Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Canada. It is organized by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. The levels of the competition are senior and junior; in some years, the novice level has...	2nd J.	2nd J.	2nd	1st

• J. = Junior level

(pairs with Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe, was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics.In 1991, she was made a Member of the Order of...

)

Event	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956
Winter Olympic Games 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...		5th				2nd
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	2nd	1st	1st	2nd
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...			1st		1st
Canadian Championships Canadian Figure Skating Championships The Canadian Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Canada. It is organized by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. The levels of the competition are senior and junior; in some years, the novice level has...	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st

(ice dance with Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe

Frances Dafoe, was a Canadian pair skater. She was born in Toronto, Ontario. She competed with Norris Bowden. The couple captured four Canadian titles and two World Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics.In 1991, she was made a Member of the Order of...

)

Event	1950	1951	1952
Canadian Championships Canadian Figure Skating Championships The Canadian Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Canada. It is organized by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. The levels of the competition are senior and junior; in some years, the novice level has...	3rd	3rd	1st

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