(March 6, 2007)

Skate Canada is please to announce that Montgomery “Bud” Wilson, the first Canadian and North American Olympic medallist in figure skating, will be inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame at this year’s induction ceremony on April 21 in Halifax.

“We are very pleased with this honour. We think it is very well-deserved” said Bud’s daughter Marcia Sidford. “My dad would have been very pleased with the amount of coverage the Olympic Games and figure skating get today.”

Born in Toronto in 1909, Bud won a bronze medal at the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, which was Canada’s first Olympic medal in figure skating. He represented Canada two other times at the Winter Olympic Games and finished 13th in 1928, and 4th in 1936. Bud also became the first Canadian male medallist at the World Figure Skating Championships when he won the silver medal at the 1932 event in Montreal, Canada.

Bud was 14-years-old when he competed in his first Canadian national championships in 1924 and finished in second place. He was crowned Canadian national champion nine times, between 1929 and 1939, a record that has yet to be beaten in terms of number of Canadian titles held by one person. He won the North American Championships six times, the Canadian Fours on three occasions, and the North American Fours title in 1939.

Bud also enjoyed success as a pair skater with his sister Constance, as they won the Canadian national championships five times and the North American championships three times.

He began coaching after retiring from competitive skating in 1939. He coached at the St. Paul Figure Skating Club in Minnesota, and at the prestigious Skating Club of Boston. Bud was inducted into the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1990. He passed away in 1964 at the age of 55.