Dick Button, 2-time Olympic figure skating gold medalist and renowned broadcaster, dies at 95

Two-time Olympic figure skating gold medalist and acclaimed broadcaster Dick Button died Thursday. He was 95 years old.

Button was the first American figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal, finishing first in the men's singles competition at the 1948 Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland. During the competition, he also became the first skater to land a double axel jump. He eventually invented the flying camel spin, a maneuver in which a skater extends his or her free leg backward while holding the knee above hip level.

Four years later, Button won gold again at the 1952 Games in Oslo, becoming the first skater to land a triple jump —a triple loop — in competition. He was credited for bringing athleticism to a sport often defined by its grace and beauty.

In 1948 and 1952, Button also won a gold medal at the World Championships, among five he won for his career.

After retiring from active competition, Button attended Harvard Law School and earned a degree in 1956. Soon thereafter, he began broadcasting with the 1960 Winter Olympics. That began a career which lasted 50 years, providing analysis and commentary — or "narration," as he called it — for CBS, ABC and NBC, and earned him an Emmy award.

Button taught generations about figure skating, breaking down the techniques and nuances involved in dances and jumps, much of which viewers could only notice on slow-motion replays. He was also known for critical commentary that was sometimes harsh. Button wasn't afraid to call a routine boring (or even ugly) or state outright that a performance wasn't good enough.

His last Olympic broadcasting assignment was for the 2010 Vancouver Games on NBC.