(March 12, 2004)

Legendary Canadian figure skater Toller Cranston will be inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame at the 2004 International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships.

The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, March 25, 2004 at the World Championships, which take place March 22-28 in Dortmund, Germany.

Cranston, a six-time Canadian Men’s Champion and 1976 Olympic bronze medallist, had a significant influence on men’s figure skating throughout his career. In addition to his bronze medal win at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Cranston’s career was highlighted by his third-place finish at the 1974 World Figure Skating Championships in Munich, Germany.

Since his retirement from amateur skating in 1976, Cranston, who splits his time between Toronto and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has been awarded a number of recognitions, including being inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1976 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1977. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1977. In 1995, Cranston received a Special Olympic Order form the then Canadian Olympic Association.

Cranston, who won the gold medal in the Men’s event at the first-ever Skate Canada International in 1973, was inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame at a Hall of Fame gala dinner in Toronto in 1997.