Sir Christopher Colin Dean is a British ice dancer, born in 1958, who together with skating partner Jayne Torvill won the gold medal in ice dance at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo with a performance to Ravel's Bolero that received nine perfect 6.0 marks for artistic impression among twelve perfect scores overall, an unprecedented result in Olympic figure skating. The pair also won four World Championship titles from 1981 to 1984, four European Championships, seven British Championships and an Olympic bronze medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Beyond competing, Dean served as the partnership's chief choreographer, later worked as a professional choreographer, judged the television program Dancing on Ice from 2006 to 2023, and was knighted in 2026 for services to ice skating.
Facts
Career HighlightWon ice dance gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics with Jayne Torvill 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why is the Torvill and Dean Bolero performance at the 1984 Olympics remembered so well?
Nine judges gave a 6.0 for artistic impression, and twelve sixes in all broke every earlier record.
At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill skated their ice dance to Ravel's Bolero, and each of the nine judges gave them a 6.0 for artistic impression. Their total of twelve sixes across the whole competition broke all previous records. Four weeks later, at the World Championships in Ottawa, they bettered it with thirteen sixes to take their fourth world title.
Did Christopher Dean return to Olympic competition after turning professional?
Yes, after the rules on professionalism relaxed, he and Torvill won bronze at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Yes. After the 1984 Games, Torvill and Dean turned professional, as most modern ice skating champions did, and appeared in a successful ice show. Skating rules on professionalism were later relaxed, so they competed again at the 1994 Winter Olympics and won the bronze medal in ice dance.
Connections
Competed In
Source Christopher Dean - Wikipedia
Source Christopher Dean - Wikipedia
Plays
Source Christopher Dean - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Christopher Dean - WikipediaLead sentence 1Quote, Lead sentence 1
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
Sources
1. Christopher Dean - Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, birth date
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
Lead paragraph, birth year
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
Lead paragraph, nationality
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
Lead paragraph, career highlight
The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Wikipedia, article summary lead
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
Competed In: 1984 Winter Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Competed In: 1994 Winter Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Plays: Figure Skating, Lead
Sir Christopher Colin Dean (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner, Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time.
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