Shepherd Clark

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Shepherd Walton Clark (born March 1, 1971)

In October of 2023, World Figure Sport (WFS) held the prestigious World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships on black ice in Lake Placid, NY.[1] Clark defended his title in the iconic 1932 Olympic Arena and became the first in history to win 7 consecutive World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships.

Clark has a total of twelve World Figure Sport’s World Championships’ medals, seven gold (2017 - 2023) and two silver medals (2015 and 2016) overall, and two additional World Fancy Skating golds won in 2017 and 2018, and one 2023 Special Figure Gold for a total of twelve World medals, making him the most decorated skater in World Figure Sport’s history. He is also the only skater to compete in all nine World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships, 2015–2023. Clark is the only man to defend a World Figure title, and to achieve the dual Figure & Fancy title, and the first to defend the dual titles in World Figure Sport’s history.

From 2015–2023, Clark competed in World Figure Sport’s World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships on black ice. This world championship event is known to include the most incredible figures and special figures originating from skating's illustrious history, while providing a stage for sculptural fancy skating where edge quality, positions, artistry, musicality, and originality (which includes flying and spinning), are valued highly in comparison to the overvalued numbers of rotations of skating jumps in other systems. Clark is currently the most decorated skater of Figures and Fancy Skating on record with World Figure Sport, and he is the first skater who has earned the dual title of "World Figure & Fancy Skating Champion", which comes from the literary masterpiece of George A. Meagher's 1895 publication, "Figures and Fancy Skating".^[3][2]

Clark had gone from his early years struggling with his figures, to being recognized many years later as "The King of Figures" and as a World Champion Skating Artist, due to Figures and the "Fancy Skating", the original term for "figure skating" dating from 1895, uniting Fine, Performing, Decorative, and Recording Arts, all in one historic, ancient winter activity. In 2021, Clark scored perfect World Class 6 marks from all of the judges on his Left Forward Inside Eight Figure, making him the first skater, man or woman, to achieve a perfect score on a figure. In 2021, he also won all 16 of the segments of the competition, a unique feat that no man, or woman, had achieved in World Figure Sport’s history. In 2022, World Figure Sport’s Skating Hall of Fame’s Crown Jewels of the Jeweled Sport, was unveiled by Shepherd Clark. In 2023, Clark repeated winning all segments of the 2023 World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships and is the most decorated champion in World Figure Sport’s Skating Hall of Fame.

Men's special figures were contested in 1908 at the Summer Olympic Games in London, the first time that figure skating had ever been included in the Olympics. Nikolai Panin of the Russian Empire won the Olympic gold medal that year, becoming the first Winter Olympic sport champion. In 2019, Clark earned the highest score in World Figure Sport history, the highest, "World Class 6", essentially a perfect mark in World Figure Sport.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2015, Richard Swenning won the gold and Clark won the silver medal in men's figures at the inaugural World Figure Championship (and now the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships) in Lake Placid, New York. In December 2016, Canadian Gary Beacom won the gold and Clark won the silver medal in men's figures at the World Figure Championship (and now the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships on black ice) in Toronto, Ontario.

Clark proceeded to win the gold medal in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 setting a world record by winning a total of seven World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships (two silver and seven gold). In 2017, the gold medal was presented to him by Dorothy Hamill, the 1976 US National, Olympic, and World Champion. In 2017, Clark was presented the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships’ Trophy by Lorna Brown in memory of John Curry, 1976 Olympic Champion. The iconic trophy was original designed in Jaca, Spain and was formerly presented to the World Professional Skating Champion, Lorna Brown, whose professional skating partner was John Curry. Clark was coached by Carlo and Christa Fassi, as were Dorothy Hamill and John Curry. Clark is also the 2017 World Fancy Skating Champion, which is a blend of figure composition and artistic free skating. His gold medal was presented by Barbara Wagner, the 1960 Olympic Pairs Figure Skating Champion. In 2019, Shepherd Clark's gold medal was presented by Donald Jackson, of Canada, a World Champion and the first skater to land the Triple Lutz jump.

In 2020, Clark was awarded World Figure Sport’s Maribel Vinson Lifetime Achievement Award, for his accomplishments in figure skating, including having performed and competed the greatest number and types of figures in world competition than anyone in skating's history.

His figure scores set a record for the highest ever in 2019, achieving seven "World Class 6" scores at the 2019 Championships in Vail. is record scoring final figure of the 2019 World Figure Championships, "Eight Eights", is on the cover of the World Figure Sport’s Skating Exam Catalog published in 2020, along with an image of the 2019 World Figure Championship’s Men's event podium. Also in 2020, World Figure Sport inaugurated the Suzanne Shelley Clark Memorial Trophy, in memory of Clark's recently deceased mother, who is known to have supported her son over a lifetime. This award is presented occasionally to extraordinary people in the world of figure skating art.

In 2023, Clark became the first winner of the “Fine Art of Skating” Competition at World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships’ Creative Fancy Figure event, where the men and ladies’ were evaluated together (by a sequestered judging panel) and solely upon their “Fine Art of Skating’s Creative Fancy Figure” that was etched into the black ice. Debi Thomas of the United States placed second, famed for "The Battle of The Carmens" and for winning the final two figures competed at The Olympics Games, which was in 1988, at The Calgary Olympics. In 2023 Clark and Thomas trained together, promoting the World Figure Sport Society and the World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships via the media.[3]

ISU Figure Skating Titles

In the International Skating Union (ISU) figure skating events, Clark won the 1989 World Junior silver medal,^[4] the 1989 Nebelhorn Trophy champion, the 1994 Nations Cup silver medalist, and the 1996 Finlandia Trophy champion.^[1] He was the first skater to land the triple lutz / triple loop combination in competition.^[2][5] As well as being a successful figure skater, he is also a jeweled art designer and jewel historian.

Shepherd Clark and Debi Thomas are the only two skaters in the world to have achieved a medals in both an International Skating Union (ISU) World Championships’ level event, and a World Figure Sport (WFS) World Figure & Fancy Skating Championships’ level event. Clark won medals at these two events: as the 1989 World Junior Championships silver medalist, and at the 2015-2023 World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships, where Clark won two silvers and nine gold medals, for a total of a record eleven medals.

Clark was coached by, and worked with, many of the world's most famous figure skating coaches, such as

In 1996, he became the Finlandia Trophy champion,^[1] the first American ever to win this trophy. He is also the 1998 U.S. national pewter medalist (4th place) and won seven sectional titles. He was the 1998 US Olympic Team Alternate (reserve skater), and the 1998 and 1999 World Figure Skating Team Alternate. In 1999, Clark placed 6th at the first Four Continents Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia; this was the highest U.S. finish in the men's event that year.

Other appearances

Clark has appeared in motion pictures such as "Ice Pawn", produced in 1990, books such as Zero Tollerance by Toller Cranston, and The Sweater book by Stephen Mosher, an assemblage of Hollywood, art, and entertainment personalities from around the world, as well as the biography of Trixi Schuba, the 1972 Olympic Figure Skating Champion known for her figure mastery. He appears in Christine Brennan's Little Girls In Pretty Boxes, referenced as a jewelry designer in a meeting at The Olympic Training Center. Clark has also appeared in many TV broadcasts of figure skating competitions and exhibitions.^{[citation needed]} Shepherd Clark and WORLD ART, are quoted and referenced in "Toller Cranston: Ice, Paint, Passion", by Toller Cranston's sister, Phillippa Baron, in tribute to Toller Cranston's lifetime of achievements.

Personal life

Clark is an artist of jewel design and of jeweled art objects, and also a jewel historian. In 2003, Clark is believed to have been the first skater to wear real gemstones on a skating costume, as a way to promote his jewelry designing. He is an entrepreneur in various industries, and known for working with charities and ministries.^[6] He is also known to be a cat lover;^[2] he has used cats in his promotional media, and has found adoption homes for rescued cats and kittens. Mr. Clark is known to be involved in various industries such as energy, The Arts, entertainment, networking, and technology. He and The WORLD ART Movement, which he founded, are part of a "WEB 3.0" Star Platform, and function to invite world class art talent, as well as art fans, to utilize new technologies in an effort to increase the opportunities to award artists, including their fans, via new "WEB 3.0" technologoes.

In 2017, Shepherd Clark founded The WORLD ART Champions Museum Hall of Fame that seeks art talent from around the world, including figure skating artists, and awards them based upon Relevance, Originality, and Mastery. In 2017, he completed a work of art entitled "The Impossible Dream", which was inspired by the blue of Trixi Schuba's Olympic skating costume, and her music choice. This work of art emphasizes the value and metaphoric importance of the circle as a shape representing life coming "full circle" when one trusts God.^{[citation needed]}

Programs

Competitive highlights

GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix

References

External links

• Figure skating corner profile
• Tracings.net profile